On Tuesday Marty Moss-Coane, the host of WHYY's Radio Times, moderated a question-and-answer session with Governor Tom Corbett at an event sponsored by the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. The Governor ran wild with analogies.
Corbett repeated a folksy analogy to the business suit-and-tie audience, saying that state revenue amounted to an eight-inch pizza pie before the 2008 financial crisis. Now, he said, it’s a six-inch pie “but with the same mouths to feed.”
Moss-Coane noted near the end of the hour-long conversation that Corbett could hear demonstrators beating drums and chanting slogans outside. What would he say to them, she asked.
“I understand that you’re upset because we’ve had to put the state on a diet, for want of a better description,” Corbett said. “I haven’t met anybody who likes to go on diets. It is not easy. It is not what we want to do.”
While the Corbett diet is high in corporate tax breaks, it is low in investments in human capital. Take, for example, the Harrisburg School District, which thanks in part to state budget cuts is considering eliminating kindergarten.
Duane O’Neal-Sloane longingly watches his older siblings pack their school lunches, wishing he was doing the same and heading off to school each morning.
After perfectly reciting his ABCs, O’Neal-Sloane said next year he even will be able to write, take gym class and eat in the lunch room at Camp Curtin School.
But with the Harrisburg School District facing a $15.8 million budget deficit next year, Duane’s hopes of attending kindergarten at Camp Curtin next fall could be dashed.
To help close next year’s budget gap, school officials are looking to cut Harrisburg’s kindergarten program and other programs the district is not lawfully required to provide...
Harrisburg isn’t the only Pennsylvania school district looking to drop kindergarten due to looming deficits, said Wythe Keever, spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Education Association, which represents teacher unions across much of the state.
York City School District and the Woodland Hills School District in Allegheny County are at least two others considering the same thing, Keever said.
The State Senate has approved a budget with $517 million more than Gov. Gasbag sought. Will he sign such a budget or insist on his austerity measures hurting the most vulnerable Pennsylvanians? Half the Senate is up for re-election this year and they must face angry voters.
My new Congressman is Rep. Joe (He's The) Pitts. A prominent member of The Family and one of the most right wing members of Congress. For some reason though he doesn't seem to understand that the problems in the Middle East cannot be solved by a dead man and another in a coma. Maybe he has "connections" through The Family that belie reality? A better guess is that Pitts is a moron.
Backlash over Tom Corbett receiving recognition for his education policies continues in Pittsburgh. The Governor who is trying to demolish all public education in Pennsylvania getting an award for education? It seems to me someone doesn't know how to read budgets.
Privacy rights continue being eroded across the country. When will people step up and revolt against these practices? Now in Arizona (just one more reason to stay away from there) employers can quiz you about contraception use. Isn't it time to turn the tables on men? At your next interview bring a tape measure... It probably doesn't have to be very long.
A reminder of some reality from the late great George Carlin:
The controversy about President Obama's position on marriage equality died down pretty quickly. It shows how far the country has come about civil rights for everyone. Still, dinosaurs like Tony Perkins appeared on once reputable networks like CNN touting lies. Homosexuality is found in hundreds of species so saying it is "not natural" is a bold faced lie. The arguments about "traditional marriage" being compromised are also nonsense. A little reminder is needed for those who forget how the Bible defined "traditional marriage."
Phil Sheridan of Philly.com says Phillies fans are engaging in wishful thinking. The biggest wishful thinkers though are those who keep saying Chase Utley will return. No one familiar with his knee situation thinks so. Those knees of his will never heal and Utley will never return to being the superstar he was.
Rebekah Brooks was arrested for the Murdoch phone hacking scandal. The real scandal here is that News Corporation actually was searching for news instead of just making it up.
A Pennsylvanian killed in Southeast Asia in 1969 will be awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously:
On May 16, President Barack Obama will award Specialist Leslie H. Sabo, Jr., U.S. Army, the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry.
Specialist Sabo will receive the Medal of Honor posthumously for his heroic actions in combat on May 10, 1970, while serving as a rifleman in Company B, 3d Battalion, 506th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division in Se San, Cambodia.
On that day, when he and his platoon were ambushed by a large enemy force, Specialist Sabo immediately charged the enemy position, killing several enemy soldiers. He then assaulted an enemy flanking force, successfully drawing their fire away from friendly soldiers and ultimately forcing the enemy to retreat. While securing a re-supply of ammunition, an enemy grenade landed nearby. Specialist Sabo picked it up, threw it, and shielded a wounded comrade with his own body - absorbing the brunt of the blast and saving his comrade's life. Although wounded by the grenade blast, he continued to charge the enemy's bunker. After receiving several serious wounds from automatic weapons fire, he crawled towards the enemy emplacement and, when in position, threw a grenade into the bunker. The resulting explosion silenced the enemy fire, but also ended Specialist Sabo's life. His indomitable courage and complete disregard for his own safety saved the lives of many of his platoon members.
Specialist Sabo's widow, Rose Mary Sabo-Brown and his brother, George Sabo, will join the President at the White House to commemorate his example of selfless service and sacrifice.
Patrick Murphy has endorsed Kathleen Kane for Attorney General. Don't hold your breath waiting for mine.
Last week the Obama-Biden campaign held a media conference call where they focused on their positive campaign compared with Mitt Romney's negative one. Now, a week later, they decided to abandon the Mr. Nice Guy approach with a two minute attack ad. The subject is Mitt's experience as CEO of Bain Capital and GST Steel Company of Kansas City.
Of course we all know Bain is going to be a major source of controversy in this campaign. Romney touts his expereince there and with the Olympics as his qualifications to be America's CEO. Of course government and business are two entirely separate entities. What's good for a business isn't necessarily good for government and vice versa. Businesses exist for the benefit of their owners/shareholders. Government exists for the good of the people (ALL the people). Romney's resume means his record is fair game and GST Steel is but one example of the way Bain operates.
Private equity firms such as Bain collect investments from people looking for returns on their money. If you're rich you give them money to invest. They pool it all together and buy distressed companies. Then they saddle those companies with massive debt by leveraging their assets. This money is used to payback the investors via Bain. Dividends and fees are paid by utilizing the funds gained from debt. There is virtually no risk to the investors and Bain takes a 2% commission. Unfortunately the company is saddled with a massive debt load which often leads it into bankruptcy. Workers not only lose their jobs but also their pensions and health care. Many wind up losing their homes.
This is why this was referred to as "vulture capitalism" by some of his fellow Republicans during the GOP primary. It feeds of the corpses of dead companies and leaves skeletons in its wake while it gets fatter.
The real issue in this campaign is this: would Romney use the same management tactics and take the same strategies he used at Bain in running the country? Here's how that would go:
First he'd borrow as much as possible on the country's credit. Then he'd use that money to pay his backers. Then the country would go bankrupt leaving everyone else to pay the piper. We've already seen this, in fact. It is exactly what happened for thirty years under Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. It led to a catastrophic global recession.
Why would we return the economic policies of Bain Capitalism?
Happy Mother's Day to all our Moms out there. Since so many people call me a motherf****r I include myself in that category. If I'm not pissing people off I'm not doing my job.
Speaking of gender the gender pay gap is alive and well in Pennsylvania. Equal pay for equal work is a concept alien to conservatives. This Mother's Day let's actually take care of Moms by paying them commensurately for the work they perform.
I reported on election day that a write-in campaign against Sen. Judy Scwank was underway. Tea bagger Karen Mogel will be on the ballot in November in the State Senate 11th district.
Ever since news broke that State Sen. Bob Mellow was paying rent to himself for his state office space we knew he'd be indicted. What's laughable is the minor slap on the wrist he got for making so much money from the deal. What else did this guy do that we haven't been told about and why all the secrecy? In my experience corruption breeds corruption.
The reason we need a full time legislature is to take care of raw deals like this one. Landlords shouldn't be allowed to require access to tenant's bank accounts. The only leverage a tenant has if things aren't fixed is withholding rent. We need a new law to prohibit this. People shouldn't be forced to move to preserve their rights.
This Mother's Day Mitt Romney's five sons are taking their nannies to dinner.
Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, long a subject of hero worship by anti-immigrant bigots like Lou Barletta, has been sued by the Justice Department. The list of wrongs compiled is long and troublesome. Women forced to sleep in their menstrual blood, the assault of pregnant women (so much for that pro- life stance Joe), warrantless searches of legal citizen's homes, unlawful detention, racial profiling and other crimes against humanity. People in Arizona need to remember the state was once part of Mexico (until we forcibly took it) and has a long and distinguished Hispanic history. This conduct is disgusting.
People continue reporting that PennDOT is charging for ID's voters require to cast their franchise this November. That makes this a poll tax and unconstitutional. Is anyone in Corbett's office listening? The letter writer asks if he can send Transportation Sec. Barry Schoch the bill for his ID. Instead he should file a federal lawsuit against him and the Governor.
Florida Congressman Allen West may be the biggest idiot to ever set foot in the Capitol. First he claimed that 81 Democrats there were members of the Communist Party. Now he says there is no such thing as workplace discrimination against gays. Maybe he also thinks racial discrimination is fictional too though I doubt he has never experienced that. The man is a total moron and needs to wake up from his delusions. There are good meds out there...
Jane Orie is already in deep doo doo after her corruption conviction. Since taxpayers forked over $1.3 million for her defense (this doesn't count the campaign contributions she also used) the DA wants her to cough up the cash. If you combine this with possible restitution for all the state resources the Senator used for campaign management she'll be on the hook forever.
The Fulushima Daiichi power plant continues to spew radiation. In fact the situation there gets worse all the time. It is now considered to be a worse accident than Chernobyl. Of course, as long as some can make money shorting the stock who cares?
Keystone Progress secured financial records from the State House and Senate and has determined that $50,000 of taxpayer money was paid directly tot he lobbying group ALEC. The American Legislative Exchnage Council (ALEC) has also been called the "A Legislator For Every Corporation" and writes laws passed in state legislatures around the country based on a radical right wing agenda. The "Stand Your Ground" or "Castle Doctrine" gun laws which promote murder are one example.
The Open Records request for communications was denied, something was seems obviously illegal. Citizens have a right to know what correspondence has transpired between Pennsylvania legislative members of ALEC and some of the extreme legislation being introduced in Harrisburg. The financial documents are troubling enough:
The Pennsylvania House spent $234,775.04 on ALEC since 2000.
The Pennsylvania Senate spent $76,042.35 since 2004.
Why are you funding trips to ALEC events? If members such as John Pippy, Ron Marsico, Joe Petrarca, John Taylor and Steve Barrar want to be this extravagant let them spend their own money on ALEC. This is a disgrace and should be investigated by the Attorney General. This is no less outrageous than BonusGate.
The $50,000 payment to ALEC, a lobbying organization, should be illegal. This cries out for extensive lobbying reform. Any trips to conventions like ALEC should be publicly disclosed by all lawmakers. Voters have a right to know who is the pocket of whom before they vote.
Last year, not one of the 491,687 new minivans sold in the United States was made in America by unionized workers.
Some were manufactured overseas by companies owned by non-American manufacturers. The Kia Sedona, with 24,047 sales, was built in South Korea, Russia, and the Philippines. The MAZDA5, with 19,155 sales, was built in China, Japan, and Taiwan.
Some minivans from Japanese companies were built in the U.S., but by non-unionized workers. Honda sold 107,068 Odysseys built in Alabama. Toyota Siennas, built in Indiana, went to 111,429 persons. The Nissan Quest, built in Ohio, had 12,199 sales.
Only three minivans were built by unionized workers, but they were made in Canada by members of the Canadian Auto Workers. The Dodge Grand Caravan, with 110,996 sales; Chrysler Town & Country, with 94,320 sales; and the VW Routan, with 12,473 sales, all share the same basic body; most differences are cosmetic. GM and Ford no longer produce minivans.
The United Auto Workers (UAW) suggests that members who wish to buy minivans buy one of the three Chrysler products because much of the parts are manufactured in the United States by UAW members.
All cars, trucks, and vans from GM, Ford, and Chrysler are produced by union workers in the U.S. or Canada. The Japanese-owned Mitsubishi Eclipse, Spyder, and Galant, and the Mazda6 are produced in the U.S. under UAW contracts; neither company makes minivans. All vehicles produced in the U.S. have the first Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) as a 1, 4, or 5; vehicles produced in Canada have a 2 as the first VIN number.
Founded in 1935, the UAW quickly established a reputation for creating the first cost-of-living allowances (COLAs) and employer-paid health care programs. It helped pioneer pensions, supplementary unemployment benefits, and paid vacations.
It has been at the forefront of social and economic justice issues; Walter Reuther, its legendary president between 1946 and his death in 1970, marched side-by-side with Martin Luther King Jr. and Cesar Chavez, and helped assure that the UAW was one of the first unions to allow minorities into membership and to integrate the workforce. Bob King, its current president, a lawyer, was arrested for civil disobedience, carrying on the tradition of the social conscience that has identified the union and its leadership.
The UAW doesn't mind that corporations make profits; it does care when some of the profit is at the expense of the worker, for without a competent and secure work force, there would be no profit. When the economy failed under the Bush-Cheney administration, and the auto manufacturers were struggling, the UAW recognized it was necessary for the workers to take pay cuts and make other concessions for the companies to survive.
But not all corporations have the social conscience that the UAW and the "Big 3" auto manufacturers developed. For decades, American corporations have learned that to "maximize profits," "improve the bottom line," and "give strength to shareholder stakes" they could downsize their workforce and ship manufacturing throughout the world. Our companies have outsourced almost every form of tech support, as well as credit card assistance, to vendors whose employees speak varying degrees of English, but tell us their names are George, Barry, or Miriam. Clothing, toys, and just about anything bought by Americans could be made overseas by children working in abject conditions; their parents might make a few cents more, and in certain countries would be thrilled to earn less than half the U.S. minimum wage.
Americans go along with this because they think they are getting their products cheaper. What they don't want to see is the working conditions of those who are employed by companies that are sub-contractors to the mega-conglomerates of American enterprise. These would be the same companies whose executives earn seven and eight-figure salaries and benefits, while millions are unemployed.
But, Americans don't care. After all, we're getting less expensive products, even if what we buy is cheaply made because overseas managers, encouraged by American corporate executives, lower the quality of materials and demand even more work from their employees.
Walk into almost every department store and Big Box store, and it's a struggle to find clothes, house supplies, and entertainment media made in America. If you do find American-made products, they are probably produced in "right-to-work" states that think unionized labor is a Communist-conspiracy to destroy the free enterprise system of the right to make obscene profits at the expense of the working class.
We can wave flags and tell everyone how much more patriotic we are than them, but we still can't buy a minivan made in America by unionized workers-even when the price is lower than that of the non-unionized competition.
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Walter M. Brasch, Ph.D.
Latest Book: Before the First Snow: Stories from the Revolution
(www.greeleyandstone.com)
www.walterbrasch.com
www.walterbrasch.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/walterbrasch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Room 148 of the State Capitol might as well double as a Capitol broom closet. That's where the House Consumer Affairs Committee this morning rushed out amendments to House Bill 2191, which legalizes predatory payday lending in Pennsylvania.
What is payday lending? Payday lending encompasses small loans, usually for two weeks or less, that require a post-dated check or electronic access to a borrower’s bank account as a condition of the loan. Fees and interest in states that allow payday lending typically total $15 to $17 for every $100 borrowed — amounting to an effective annual percentage rate of more than 300 percent for a loan due in full in 14-days.
The amendments to HB 2191 were misleadingly pitched as adding more consumer protections to the bill. Even the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society took a look at these amendments and said they do "nothing to mitigate the already harmful aspects of HB 2191," and that one amendment "actually worsens the problem it claims to solve."
One focus of the amendments this morning was language banning renewals or rollovers of a payday loan, as if that was a solution to stopping the long-term cycle of debt. It is not.
Payday lenders support amendments that ban renewals and rollovers because they know how to circumvent them. To avoid appearing to "rollover" or "renew" the debt, lenders ask the borrower to pay off the old loan and take out a new loan by paying a new fee and writing another check. Also, in a practice called "touch and go," lenders take a cash "payoff" for the old loan that they immediately re-loan with new loan funds the next day.
Here’s how it works: To repay the first loan, the borrower lets the lender cash the original post-dated check or pays the lender $300 in cash to tear up the check. In either case, they borrow again immediately or as soon as allowed by law.
Under HB 2191 as amended, people would be able to borrow again the next day. In this way, a borrower in Pennsylvania could be indebted every payday of the year!
Because these types of transactions technically do involve paying off the loan — if only for one day before a new loan is originated — they are not considered renewals or rollovers, thus allowing serial use of payday lending to continue unabated. In states with a rollover ban, borrowers are stuck in an average of nine loans per year, and payday lenders earn 60% of their revenue from borrowers with 12 or more loans a year.
Research and experience in other states shows that payday loans with triple-digit APRs and quick due dates lead to the accumulation of long-term debt for working families, rather than serving as timely financial aid, as the industry often claims.
Customers typically do not use a payday lender just once; the average payday borrower takes out nine payday loans per year. Many borrowers cannot afford to pay back the principal, let alone the principal plus high interest and fees, two weeks or less after borrowing.
When borrowers do pay back the loan, they often need an additional loan to meet their already established bills and obligations. The structure of the payday product itself exploits the already stretched budgets of low- and moderate-income families by luring them into a debt trap.
In today’s committee meeting, Rep. Jesse White noted that in his legal practice helping low-income rural families struggling with bankruptcy, his clients often identified their use of payday lending (when it was legal in Pennsylvania) as the point at which their financial troubles got out of control.
It is no surprise then that the typical payday borrower takes out multiple (non-concurrent) loans over the year, each time falling further behind on their bills. It is also why payday borrowers are twice as likely to file for bankruptcy as applicants denied a payday loan. Payday lenders succeed not by targeting the completely destitute but by targeting desperate but resourceful people they can squeeze for money.
Predatory payday lending doesn't just put the squeeze on borrowers; excessive fees leave borrowers with less money to spend on goods and services, such as rent and food. This ends up erasing an estimated 1,843 good jobs from the economy. In this way, HB 2191, even with amendments, would transfer money from Main Street Pennsylvania to out-of-state and foreign payday lending corporations.
Under current Pennsylvania law, payday lending at annual interest rates of 300% or more is illegal. It's also immoral. HB 2191 would do more harm to Pennsylvania than good.
The state Senate is looking to restore many of the budget cuts proposed by Gov. Gasbag. Would he sign such a budget? Cuts for those most vulnerable and those hitting the future of our youth are especially troublesome.
Corbett is objecting to a forced usage of a national ID card at the same time he is trying to force Pennsylvanians to carry state identification papers in order to vote. Hypocrisy anyone?
HHS awards in Pennsylvania will enhance patient care in our hospitals:
· An award of nearly $5 million to Finity Communications, Inc. of Portland, Oregon, to improve health care for high need populations in the greater Philadelphia area. The project is using health information technology to engage patients in their own care, emphasizing prevention and wellness.
· An award of nearly $2 million for a program by the George Washington University for dialysis patients. The program is using telemedicine to offer real-time health monitoring to improve patient safety and treatment, and will expand to patients in the Philadelphia and Southern Maryland areas.
· An award of nearly $5 million to Joslin Diabetes Center, Inc., of Boston, to help people with Medicare and Medicaid understand their risks for diabetes, and improve health habits for the prevention and management of the disease. The program will target at risk and underserved populations in New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.
The Department of Commerce reports that Pennsylvania exports totaled $41 billion in 2011. This is a 17% increase from 2010 and is a result of the Administrations efforts to double exports in four years.
Georgina Zogby, wife of the Commonwealth's Budget Director, was sentenced for retail theft. Five years probation is the result of her sticky finger visits to TJ Maxx and Wegmans.
The Pirates released an "It Gets Better" video. We're still waiting for a Phillies version.
At a Sandusky pre-trial hearing today several entities attempted to quash subpoenas from the coach's lawyer. Obviously the credibility of the alleged victims is paramount to his getting a fair trial and should be fair game. It appears the Attorney General's office botched this investigation. We now learn the time of the infamous shower rape was off by a year, not an insignificant error. People lost their jobs over this, facts need to be ascertained before arrests are made. Mike McQueary says he will sue Penn State under the whistle blower law. The trial is slated for June 5th.
Sen. Jane Orie was suspended from practicing law by the PA Supreme Court. Justice Joan Orie Melvin, under a black cloud of corruption from her sister's trial conviction, abstained.
Pat Toomey joined fellow Republicans yesterday in blocking a move to keep student loan interest rates where they are presently.
A mortgage company denied a buyer because of a Marcellus shale rig next door. This is evidence of that property values are suffering from the activity. Gas brought in $3.5 billion last year but Pennsylvanians got nothing in return for our resources being exploited.
"I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don't Ask Don't Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I've just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married."
AFER released this statement:
"Today is a proud day for all Americans," said AFER lead co-counsel Theodore B. Olson. "The bedrock American principles of freedom and human dignity are central to the political and legal convictions of Republicans, Democrats, liberals, and conservatives alike. President Obama's words remind us that marriage and equality are universal values that unite us all. They remind us that we are all-as a People and a Nation-striving to form a more perfect Union."
"President Obama's words today will be celebrated by generations to come," said AFER Board President Chad Griffin. "For the millions of young gay and lesbian Americans across this nation, their President's words provide genuine hope that they will be the first generation to grow up with the freedom to fully pursue the American dream. Marriage-the promise of love, companionship, and family-is basic to the pursuit of that dream. Our Constitution's promise, the promise of liberty, is one that every generation must realize. As President Obama recognized today, the fight to secure marriage equality is the defining element of our generation's search for greater freedom."
We're still a long way from full equality, North Carolina's vote yesterday is proof but having a sitting President advocating equality is a milestone. Rights should never be put to a popular vote, that's why they're called rights. There is now a distinct difference between Obama and Romney on this issue.
Action on the state budget began in earnest Monday with state Senator Jake Corman, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, releasing important details on the Senate budget plan that will be advanced this week.
The proposal would increase Governor Tom Corbett's budget proposal by $500 million, with total spending rising from $27.15 billion to $27.65 billion for 2012-13. The Senate plan rejects $191 million in fund transfers and new revenue and proposes new spending cuts of $165 million. Those spending reductions were not yet detailed.
Does not include block grants for county human services or basic education;
Reduces the county human services funding cut from 20% to 10%;
Restores $50 million to Accountability Block Grants (which fund quality pre-kindergarten and full-day kindergarten);
Restores $14 million in cuts to early childhood education;
Reduces the transfer from the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund (Key '93 Fund) from $38 million to $19 million;
Cuts PHEAA by $8 million rather than the $19 million proposed by the Governor; and
Maintains $59 million for the CURE health research program in the Tobacco Settlement Fund.
Senator Corman, who announced the details, said the Senate wanted to take a step back on the proposed education block grant because "a lot of people are opposed to it" and will wait to get more feedback from school districts. On the human services block grant, Corman said, "we did not get into whether it is block granted or not."
It's not clear that a 10% cut in county human services will seem like much of a victory to the folks fighting that battle. And since House leaders had been talking $100 million for Accountability Block Grants, there may be some trading to come. It's not clear whether we can get a spend number higher than $27.615 billion so there is a lot more work to be done.
Will welfare programs get cut again?
The Senate plan includes $40 million in revenue from "recalculating Social Security and welfare costs." The Social Security side is what school advocates have identified as double counting on charter school Social Security payment. The $165 million in unspecified spending cuts, plus the welfare savings, could be a cause for concern.
The preliminary revenue estimate released by the Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) last week provided crucial cover to state lawmakers who have been hammered for months in Harrisburg and in the press about the consequences of the Governor's proposed cuts. The IFO, which was established precisely for the purpose of providing a revenue estimate "independent" from the Governor, projects that Pennsylvania will end the current fiscal year with about a $400 million balance, and raise $400 million more than originally projected in the new fiscal year.
To make the Senate plan more palatable to lawmakers, especially those in the House loathe to spend a dime more even if bridges are falling down around them, Senator Corman argued that the spending plan would meet TABOR targets. That, of course, should send shivers down all of our spines.
TABOR - the Taxpayer Bill of Rights - is the failed experiment in Colorado, which limited state spending to a formula of inflation plus population growth. If tax collections run higher than that, officials are supposed to send the money back to taxpayers as a rebate. In 2005, voters in Colorado passed a referendum suspending this crazy system for five years.
Why would voters turn down a tax rebate check? I guess they tired of the gimmick. The last time I looked, local governments had passed 1,400 tax increases to make up for state funding cuts.
North Carolina is voting today on a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriages. We'll see how forward thinking the Tar Heel state is and whether it's really the Tar Hell State for LGBT citizens denied equal rights under law.
Congressman Jason Altmire, felled in the primary, endorsed Mark Critz yesterday along with Mike Doyle, Rich Fitzgerald and other Democratic leaders from Allegheny and Beaver Counties.
Media Matters has hit Fox News once again for ethical violations. It seems when they have official Romney advisers on the air they aren't disclosing them as such. This is journalism 101.
Keystone Progress has asked for all records about ALEC using the state Open Records law. This could be interesting. They want all correspondence from both the Senate and House regarding the group.
The Obama Swiss Bank Account ad:
It's only May but it feels like October...
While conservatives yell about Obama using the Bin Laden killing as a campaign tool they should remember they had seven years to get the guy and failed. As a singular accomplishment the President has a right to remind voters he actually got the guy. It isn't like he's warning them if they don't vote correctly the terrorists will kill their children (that was Dick Cheney).
Joe Biden opened a hornets nest when he said he was "absolutely comfortable" with gay marriage. The subject then consumed 21 minutes of jay Carney's time yesterday with the White House press.
Austerity measures didn't fare well in Europe over the weekend as voters in France and Greece resoundingly rejected such policies. Riots in Britain against their austerity measures should be a reminder to Mitt Romney that tapping austerity favorite Paul Ryan would be a disaster for his campaign.
Jim Messina and David Axelrod held a conference call yesterday with the press about the state of the race for president. Noting that Mitt Romney has spent $55 million on ads so far and that 90% of it was negative they pledge to be positive. So far the Obama ads have talked about the President's record but, as I wanted to ask them, it won't be long before they go negative as well informing voters about the real Mitt Romney. What is the "real" Romney and is there any such creature? How do you define someone who has redefined himself so many times (just this year)?
This ad will air here and in Virginia, Ohio, Nevada, New Hampshire, Iowa, North Carolina, Florida and Colorado. It comes on the heels of their "Life of Julia" website showing how policies effect women. Strangely I cannot access the site this morning, maybe it was aborted.
Axelrod's best quote of the call happened when he criticized Restore America, the Romney super PAC saying it has carpet bombed his opponents and "is a contract killer from super PAC land." They kept hitting the theme that Obama will take the country forward and Romney backwards. This is the message of the 2012 campaign and they obviously intend to hit it hard right out of the gate. Polls show the President regaining the lead here in Pennsylvania but he still isn't over the magic 50% threshold needed to win and anything can happen between now and November. There aren't many scenarios where the Obama-Biden team can win without the Keystone State so expect a heavy presence here by both camps once again.
I spoke with the former Congressman and U.S. Senate candidate this morning in Media. We met in Rose Tree Park a few minutes from his home. Subjects included Afghanistan, Voter ID, his Naval career, education and the campaign for Senate. The Bloggie Touch mysteriously turned itself off during our conversation, we picked it up in Part 2.
The video kicked out as I asked Joe what he'd do, hypothetically, as Governor and head of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. What would he change? He said, in a nutshell, that Party leaders and people need to connect more with the rank and file. He was an example of how out of touch they were, and are, sometimes.
I asked Joe about the Obama campaign using the Bin Laden killing for his re-election and got into the subject of Afghanistan. He said "we should not just walk, but also talk, softly as we carry a big stick. I don't think the U.S. should ever have to strut about what it does. Our success speaks for itself. When one side has said that Democrats don't have national security credentials and a withdrawal from Iraq would have terrorists in our supermarkets., it is understandable why the Democratic leadership emphasizes the Obama killing. However, I believe we need to get back to a bipartisan approach on foreign policy and not use it as a political point.
Happy Cinco de Mayo! Go out and have a burrito and margherita. Yesterday was Star Wars Day: May 4th. May the Fourth be with you...
I went to a fundraiser last night for State House candidate Erik Saar. The consultant to the Joint Chiefs of Staff has a great resume for a heavily GOP district in western Berks. Incumbent Jim Cox was Chief of Staff to Tea Party fave Sam Rohrer before winning this seat when Sheila Miller retired. He is known for being a puppy hater. Not only has he voted to support puppy mills this week he voted against a tax cut for people who adopt rescue animals. Why does Jim Cox hate pets?
Mark and Jackie Rozzi (126th House) were also in attendance along with Tim Seip who is running for Dave Argall's State Senate seat.
Disabled Pennsylvanians descended on Gov. Corbett's office again this week to protest his cuts to their programs. This marks the second consecutive Corbett budget to cut services tot he disabled. The test of a civilization is how we treat those among us who need help most. Cutting off disabled people is immoral.
A new generation of Romneys is set to threaten prosperity into the future. Tagg announced yesterday he, his wife and their surrogate mother gave birth to twin sons. I thought radical conservatives were against any procreation which uses in vitro fertilization? Did Rick Santorum consider this before meeting Mitt yesterday? What happens to the rest of the Tagg Romney fertilized eggs? According tot he "personhood" nuts these are living beings with full human rights.
What's more ridiculous, giving full rights to fertilized eggs or to corporations?
Senate candidate Tom Smith is a Tea bagger:
Fact based sex education is especially important for gay students who have few reliable sources for factual, age appropriate information. Missouri not only wants to stifle such real educational curriculums but wishes to muzzle gay students completely. This prompted a lawmaker to come out of the closet himself.
Congressional Republicans don't think you deserve protection from domestic abuse if you're illegal, a Native American or LGBT. As if this weren't bad enough if you're illegal they want to be able to tell your abuser you sought help. It's time we abused them at the polls.
More corruption at Wal-Mart hits the news. Why anyone would patronize these stores is a mystery to me. Now the Department of Labor has determined they stole $4.8 million in wages from employees. Maybe they used it to bribe Mexican officials...
When I first learned about natural gas hydrofracturing, or "fracking" my major concern was the safety of water supplies and the effect on property values. Time is proving those concerns to be justified. Fish in the Susquehanna River are being found with lesions and the five million gallons of water required to drill each well is depleting our water in exchange for gas. Forests are being depleted at an alarming rate. The earth has but a fixed amount of fresh water for our survival but we're poisoning much of it so we can make jobs. This is insane since we can't drink jobs.
Kim McEvoy is a victim of natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania. Her water is now unfit for consumption and she and her family must carry all of their water to their home from elsewhere and have now decided to sell their house. The problem is that without access to clean, potable water it isn't worth much on the market.
Butler County is in the Marcellus shale region being exploited for cheap gas and jobs mostly filled by people from Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. Other than truck drivers racing up and down country roads destroying them with drilling debris, water and pipeline supplies the exchange of water for jobs hasn't benefited many Pennsylvanians. The trade-off simply isn't worth the cost:
"If it had public water today, I could probably sell it for $120,000," said Warrene. "Right now with no water, we got it listed at $87,900. It's not gonna sell because other houses in the area without water are selling for between $15,000 and $30,000."
But Warrene says houses with public water are rising in value, because residents want a secure water source."If it had public water today, I could probably sell it for $120,000," said Warrene. "Right now with no water, we got it listed at $87,900. It's not gonna sell because other houses in the area without water are selling for between $15,000 and $30,000."
But Warrene says houses with public water are rising in value, because residents want a secure water source.
If Kim gets sick state law now prevents her doctor from telling her what fracking chemicals may have caused her ailments. Recent legislation now imposes such a gag order on doctors putting state lawmakers between her and her doctor. Talk about big government...
Gas drillers don't even have to disclose what toxic chemicals they use for fracking. The idea of fracking is to force water at high pressure thousands of feet into the earth to explode and release the natural gas trapped in the shale formation. Sand is injected to seal the area so toxic water doesn't escape and get to water aquifers. The problem in Pennsylvania is that thousands of orphaned oil wells and coal mines also penetrate these regions underground and no one knows where they are. Sand may not be able to seal such large openings allowing poisoning of water supplies. As water is lost so are property values.
The theory that jobs are more important than humans, than property values, than preserving our fixed amount of water necessary for life, is outrageous. Ask Kim McEvoy if it was worth it in Butler County.
By Mark Price, 
