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Gov. Tom Wolf, during a recent appearance in Larksville, declared, “We have a serious set of choices facing us, and democracy is about choices.” Unfortunately for Pennsylvania’s hardworking taxpayers, our governor refuses to respond to those choices with serious solutions.
Wolf’s visit to State Street Elementary was intended to gin up support for a budget proposal that is wildly unpopular – it received exactly zero votes in the state House – and punitive. It raises taxes on everything under the sun: Nursing home care, higher education, day care and even funeral services will be walloped by higher taxes under Wolf’s plan.
The governor conveniently made little mention of his income tax hike and sales tax expansion. Instead, Wolf implies that a higher tax on gas drillers will raise enough money to fund his spending priorities. In truth, the severance tax accounts for roughly 3 percent of Wolf’s tax package; the other 97 percent is shouldered by families and small businesses.
Wolf also claimed that previous budget gimmicks have led to downgrades in the state’s credit rating. He should know better. Our credit rating has suffered thanks to skyrocketing public pension costs. After vetoing comprehensive pension reform, however, it’s not surprising that Wolf seeks to deflect attention from the topic.
Democracy is certainly about choices – and right now, Wolf is choosing to campaign instead of compromise.
James Paul
Senior policy analyst
Commonwealth Foundation
Harrisburg