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For Immediate
Release
7/1/09
Enacting a Responsible State Budget
By Senator Dominic Pileggi
One fact – a simple, indisputable and painful fact – is at
the center of the ongoing debate about Pennsylvania's state budget: the
Commonwealth has a revenue shortfall of $3.3 billion.
My view, and the view of the Senate Republican Caucus, is
that we should do exactly what hardworking families across Pennsylvania are
doing: reduce our spending to match the level of available funds.
The view held by the Governor and Democratic leaders in the
General Assembly is that the state should increase taxes – including a 16.3
percent, $1.5 billion increase in the personal income tax – to spend more on
government programs.
I believe it is wrong to increase taxes at a time when so
many people are losing their jobs, losing their homes, and struggling to make
ends meet.
Two months ago, the Senate passed a budget that does not
increase taxes, relying instead on cuts to state spending. Since that time, the
203 members of the House have yet to debate or vote on a budget.
Instead, the Governor and his public relations apparatus
have engaged in a full-time effort to convince you that the Senate's approach
will cause the sky to fall in Pennsylvania.
An objective look at the numbers shows that while difficult
choices must be made, essential government services can be maintained and
improved without increases in taxes and spending.
Under the Senate-approved budget, state and federal funding
for public schools would increase by more than $720 million, or 11.7 percent.
That is a generous increase in any year. It is an extraordinary increase during
these difficult times.
Of the 62 school districts in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and
Montgomery counties, 57 will receive an increase of more than 10 percent – and
all of them will see increases of at least six percent. Philadelphia School
District, for example, will receive $212 million in new funds, a 20 percent
increase.
Schools will also receive an additional $500 million in
capital funds for renovations and construction.
In addition to those substantial new investments in our
public schools, the Senate-approved budget protects public safety by providing
increased funding to the Pennsylvania State Police and the Department of
Corrections. The social safety net provided by the Department of Public Welfare
will remain strong with a funding increase. And funding for many other key
programs – such as children's health insurance and autism services – will be
maintained or increased.
The sky is not falling.
There is no question that the Senate-approved budget
contains many spending cuts. Some of those cuts were very difficult to make, and
I hope will be reexamined when the recession ends.
But cuts have to be made, because the only alternative is
increasing taxes. And a tax increase will not only hurt individual
Pennsylvanians, it will also slow down economic activity and cause the recession
to last even longer.
Just last month, the Governor himself said, "This is a bad
time to raise taxes because any tax increase hurts the level of spending. So I
am philosophically against raising any taxes."
He was right then, and I urge him to return to that
position. Tax increases are both unnecessary and counterproductive.
As you think about the state budget, here are the most
important numbers to keep in mind:
In the current fiscal year, 2008-09, Pennsylvania is
spending $27.7 billion.
The Senate-approved budget for 2009-10 would spend $27.3
billion, reducing total state spending by 1.4 percent.
The Governor is seeking a 2009-10 budget of nearly $29
billion, a spending increase of about $1.3 billion.
Now, ask yourself this question: In the worst recession
since the Great Depression, does it make more sense for the Commonwealth to hold
the line on taxes and reduce spending modestly, or to increase your taxes to pay
for a significant increase in government spending?
The answer is clear. We need to live within our means.
I urge the Governor and the House Democratic leaders to
support a spending plan that maintains core government services without a tax
increase on hardworking Pennsylvanians.
More information about state issues can be found on
Senator Pileggi's web site,
www.senatorpileggi.com.
Contact:
Erik Arneson
(717) 787-4712
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