State GOP bows to governor

Guest Column by Susan Emrich

On Jan. 27-28, the Republican State Committee held its winter meeting in Hershey. Lebanon County has three members, elected in 2010. I am one; Tom Hawk and Susan Zug are the others.

Before the meeting, Gov. Tom Corbett endorsed a slate of candidates, then strong-armed committee people to endorse his picks. Members were subjected to a card-check-like roll call when the vote to endorse or not endorse was taken. The "endorse" vote won. Instead of a secret ballot, another roll-call vote was taken for the senatorial endorsement, held accountable not to the voters but to the governor.

Why endorse before petitions to be on the ballot are gathered? Why endorse before the primary? Why Steve Welch, who voted for President Barack Obama and helped fundraise for Joe Sestak?

The other candidates will not be allowed to campaign at any official Republican events because of the endorsement. County committees will not be allowed to provide information on the other candidates. The other candidates will not have access to "Voter Vault," a site that provides voters' addresses and voting records. Most importantly, the endorsed Republican will get all the money collected by the state Republican Party.

Committee people are supposed to promote Republican values and principles. I believe our candidates should espouse Republican ideals, such as limited government. For a change, there is more than one good Republican senatorial candidate. Do you, the voters, want to decide the Republican nominee, or do you think the governor should pick for you?

On March 8, the county Republican committee will hold an endorsement meeting. Visit http://www.lebanoncountygop.org/ and find the three committee people who represent you. Let them know if you want them to endorse or not. These people are supposed to represent you.

I attended the Jan. 27 state meeting but had already scheduled a cruise that left Jan. 28. I sent a trusted committee person, Sue Rodkey, in my stead. As instructed, she voted not to endorse. Since the majority voted to endorse, she then voted for Sam Rohrer for Senate. Hawk and Zug both voted to endorse and then voted for Welch. You can ask them why.

I am a constitutional conservative. I believe it is "we the people" who made this country great. I believe our rights come from our Creator and not man.

No doubt many established Republicans will not like my letter. They didn't vote for me. Lebanon County Republicans elected me, so this is the risk I am willing to take.

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Does Anyone In Washington Really Want to Reduce the Deficit?

Guest Column By Richard A. Viguerie

The annual Capital Hill insider ritual of declaring the President’s budget “dead on arrival” -- while the other Party does nothing to rein-in spending -- has begun.

So, to cut straight to the chase, neither Democrats nor establishment Republican leaders really want to reduce the federal deficit. Otherwise, they would actually vote for -- and pass -- reductions in spending.

While Obama’s budget is a thinly disguised election year sham that will add another $1 trillion to the deficit this year (while claiming $4 trillion in phony deficit reduction over the next ten years), Republicans are little better.

Despite the good intentions of House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, the actions of House Republican leaders speak louder than their words. And their actions show there will be no deficit reduction this year.

From the recently announced "deal" to back-off their position to require spending cuts to offset the ill-advised payroll tax cut, to their annual charade over the Medicare “doc fix,” to their knee-jerk opposition to any reductions Pentagon spending -- Republican leaders have already shown they will not make the tough choices, or take the tough election year votes, necessary to reduce spending.

As Wall Street investment guru Porter Stansberry wrote recently, "This year's $3.6 trillion federal budget is 20% larger than the entire 2008 budget. And while our government has grown at a record pace, our economy hasn't. It has hardly grown at all. [emphasis added] Thus, this will be the fourth year in a row we set a record for deficit spending. Never before in peacetime has our government borrowed this much money. And now, it's borrowing record amounts every year."

The thinking that has allowed this situation to continue shows Capital Hill Republican leaders -- particularly in the House -- learned nothing from the Tea Party rebellion that brought them back to majority status in the 2010. They are still operating with the Bush/Hastert/Frist spending mentality, and that spell will never be broken until new leaders, untainted by those old ways of doing things, are elected.

Richard A. Viguerie is the Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com. ConservativeHQ.com is the online news source for conservatives and Tea Partiers committed to bringing small-government constitutional conservatives to power.

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Five Years of Corruption Trials…and Counting

Guest Column by Tim Potts

This month marks the five-year anniversary of the series of scandals that has made PA’s General Assembly the most criminally prosecuted legislature in America during those five years.

Last week, Rep. Bill DeWeese, Greene, became the first sitting lawmaker to be convicted. Also last week, former Rep. Brett Feese, Lycoming, was sentenced to 4 to 12 years in jail for his part in the Computer Scandal, uncovered as prosecutors investigated the Bonus Scandal. So far, 21 lawmakers and staff have been convicted of a variety of crimes involving the theft of taxpayer money for personal and partisan political purposes.

The response by lawmakers has been virtually nothing. The overwhelming majority of lawmakers and their leaders are content to remain pro-choice on corruption.

Here’s a brief history of the scandals as compiled by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Bonusgate: How the statewide public corruption case unfolded, Feb. 12. Here’s a list of the scandal defendants and their disposition, also from the Post-Gazette. And here’s an AP story: Lessons of PA corruption probe may be short-lived, Centre Daily Times, Feb. 12.

But wait! There’s more!

Former Rep. Mike Veon, Beaver, already in jail for previous convictions, begins trial today on another set of charges that he illegally used taxpayer funds to benefit himself personally and politically. In prison for bonus scandal, former House whip Veon faces new trial, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Feb. 13.

Still pending are trials of former Rep. Steve Stetler, York, also a Bonus Scandal defendant, and Sen. Jane Orie, Allegheny, and her sister Janine Orie, who also are accused of using taxpayer money for personal and political gain.

As if that weren’t enough, PA Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin is a target of an investigation by an Allegheny County grand jury. Former Sen. Raphael Musto, Luzerne, was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2010: Grand jury indicts Sen. Raphael Musto for allegedly accepting kickbacks, Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, Nov. 23, 2010. Former Sen. Bob Mellow, Lackawanna, is under federal investigation for allegedly violating several federal laws: Mellow spends big on lawyers, Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, Feb. 10, 2012.
We repeat: The response by lawmakers has been virtually nothing. The overwhelming majority of lawmakers and their leaders are content to remain pro-choice on corruption.

PA voters know what to do as documented in DR’s 2012 Public Integrity Poll. So does the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader in this editorial: State convention our best hope, Feb. 12, the latest among virtually every newspaper in PA.

Returning to DeWeese, his sentencing is scheduled for April 24. Ironically, that’s primary election day, and DeWeese will be on the ballot.

Whether April 24 will actually be primary election day is yet another question. The Legislative Reapportionment Commission (LRC) still has the option to re-draw the legislative map for this year after the PA Supreme Court ruled their proposed plan is unconstitutional.

However, if the LRC does re-draw the map for this year, it will require the legislature to push primary election day back, perhaps into June or July, unless it wants to hold the Congressional primary on April 24 and a second primary for the General Assembly later. The estimated cost of the extra primary is $20 million to $25 million.

Under any circumstances, the LRC will have to adopt a new plan to be used in the 2014 elections.
Did we mention that 72% of PA voters want to change how legislative districts are drawn, while only 15% oppose a change?

The General Assembly’s strategy of deny (“Problems? What problems?”), delay (“We’ll deal with them soon.”), and distract (“But first we have to deal with this other huge problem over here.”) is working like a charm.

Get ready for a major push to get the referendum for a Constitution convention on the ballot in November.

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Rick Geist's campaign goes negative early, calls challenger a "radical" in today's letter requesting support

Well the primary season is heating up here in the Pennsylvania 79th Legistlative District republican primary race. And Representative Rick Geist's campaign isn't wasting any time going after challenger John McGinnis.

A letter that I received in the mail today written by Geist's Campaign Chairman, Patrick Fanelli, calls McGinnis a "Radical". The letter goes on to suggest that Representative Geist has been "targeted" by an unnamed Harrisburg-based political organization.

(A funny passage from the letter) A Harrisburg-based political organization has targeted the 79th Legislative District seat and Rick's consistent conservative voting record by recruiting a radical candidate to oppose him in the upcoming Primary Election on April 24, 2012

Really?

The letter goes on to suggest that the 79th District is also going to be invaded by aliens like in the October 30, 1938 radio broadcast of War of the Worlds. O.K. I'm just kidding. But the letter has that kind of frightening tone to it. So be afraid. Be very afraid 79th district voters of the unnamed Harrisurg-based boogie men out to snatch the 79th legislative district. Oh and support Rick Geist's campaign.

The most interesting part of the letter is the assertion that Representative Geist has always adhered to three tenents of the Tea Party movement: 1. Lower Taxes, 2. Smaller Government, and 3. Return to the Constitution.

No he did not just pull the Tea Party card. I'm confused here.

How can a state legislator claim to be an advocate for a return to the "Constitution" when he voted for an unconstitutional pay raise and took the unconstitutional unvouchered expenses? Maybe the letter was referring to our U.S. Constitution instead of the Constitution that actually governs the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Geist's claims of being a staunch advocate for lower taxes and smaller government are not reflected in his record either according to the Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania . On their website post dated March 3rd 2011 , "CAP to Rep. Geist: Lead, Follow, or Retire", Geist was quoted saying that Governor Corbett's 2011 budget proposal to eliminate WAM's (Walking Around Money for state lawmakers) was "unrealistic". Geist even refused to sign the group's "No WAMs" Pledge. This is something a think a true Tea Party advocate would support don't you think?

Furthermore, Geist also voted for Ed Rendell's 2005-6 state budget that raised the state personal income tax by 15 percent and increased state spending 6.1 percent. In fact Geist voted in favor of the 2008-2009 budget that also increased state spending during the Rendell years.

All of this just doesn't add up. If Geist is a true Tea Party supporter than I'm the Easter Bunny!

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Governor Tom Corbett's 2012-13 budget address

The following is Governor Tom Corbett's 2012-13 Budget Address to the General Assembly:

Speaker Smith, President Pro Tempore Scarnati, Lieutenant Governor Cawley, members of the General Assembly, distinguished cabinet, fellow citizens.

Pennsylvanians are people who embrace important qualities. We value service. We value bravery. We value compassion. We saw these virtues on display last year when floods hit our state. Our first responders, our firefighters, our police, our men and women of the National Guard stepped into the breach to prove, once again, that we are a commonwealth and act for the common good.

In Montgomery County, Robert Spitko, a firefighter from Norristown, and Rick Russo, a swift water rescue boat crew member from Neshannock in Lawrence County, learned of a woman who had been swept away. They tethered themselves to rescue ropes and went through the swift and rising flood waters. They found that woman clinging to a sapling. They brought her back safe.

In Lycoming County, State Police Corporals Brad Eisenhower and Larue Stelene received calls about a woman and two children, ages 3 and 7, stranded on the roof of their home. The buildings around them had already been swept away. These brave men guided a hovercraft through those waters, at night time, and took that family to safety.

For several years we have seen courage on display as members of our National Guard served overseas in the War on Terror. I want to tell you about two of them. Recently they were each presented with a heart. It might be close to Valentine's Day, but that's not the reason. But it is out of love for their country, and what it means.

Specialist Ryan Petrill, from Luzerne County, was injured fighting in Afghanistan. Sergeant Matthew Keeler, from Delaware County, earned his purple heart in Iraq. We are grateful for their service, and even more grateful to have these winners of the Purple Heart back home in Pennsylvania. Welcome home, men.

These six heroes are here today representing the thousands of others in their ranks, who came through in our time of need, at home and overseas. Would you join me in one final round of applause for them?

So, we ended last year with accounts of great courage. We began this new year on a note of sadness. Joe Paterno, a legendary coach and an ambassador for Pennsylvania in the world of sports, died. His commitment to Penn State and to the futures of the athletes he guided can never be doubted. Nor can his place in our history. Please join me in a moment of silence in honor of Joe Paterno.

Last year, when I stood before you, I spoke of a grave dilemma. The state had a structural deficit of more than $4 billion. The public ledger demanded restraint. Our needs as a commonwealth demanded action. We accomplished much of real consequence.

For the first time in 40 years, we spent less. Our state budget was passed on time for the first time in almost a decade. And we imposed no new taxes on our citizens.

The reason was plain: State government has less revenue because our citizens have less for themselves. We can't ask people to travel the road to recovery and then turn around and add to the burden they must carry along the way. To prevent cost reductions at the state level from being turned into new taxes at the local level, we enacted property tax reform.

Tort reform brought relief to job-creators who feared entering a marketplace where they could be forced to pay for damages that were not rightly theirs. I asked you last year to send me tort reform and said I would sign it. You sent it. I signed it. Thank you.

Early today, we passed legislation creating new Keystone Opportunity Zones. K-O-Z's, as they are often called, offer tax incentives and development assistance to businesses. They have the potential to bring thousands of jobs to Pennsylvania. This sends a strong message that Pennsylvania's open for business.

After long negotiations, we are close to reaching a consensus on how to address the impacts in the Marcellus Shale regions. I am pleased with the progress we have made and I applaud the cooperative spirit you and your staffs demonstrated while working to resolve this complex issue. I look forward to signing this legislation into law.

By keeping taxes in check and spending under control we continued to replace jobs lost in the recession. Those jobs weren't created by decree. They grew because Pennsylvania's budget, rather than postpone the inevitable, faced up to the moment. We reduced spending to fit the realities of our time. Pennsylvania took its first steps toward changing the culture of tax-and-spend.

Together, we showed we can make reforms that count. It is time to show citizens, weary of empty promises and doubtful that real change can be believed in, that we can accomplish more. In this administration we have decreased overall spending by six percent. We reduced the state automobile fleet by more than 1,200 cars. In the agencies that fall under the supervision of the governor, we have eliminated "per diem" expense accounts. We insist on receipts. In every sense, the message of reform is, "don't waste."

The alternative was to raise taxes to cover that deficit. What would this have meant?

Last year alone, the personal income tax increase necessary to close that $4.2 billion gap would have cost the average Pennsylvania family of four $920 - just to maintain a status quo that wasn't working. If we did so this year, we'd be taking an additional $300. In two years, a two-income family of modest means would be handing over an additional $1,200 simply to maintain a system that is just plain broken, inefficient and in need of reform.

For families coming out of a recession, that's an inexcusable burden to impose. Reform means understanding this simple truth: when you don't have enough to spend, you spend less.

Reform also means knowing the difference between a "make-work" project and a "save-jobs" project. It's the difference between merely propping something up, and building on its real value. The Port of Philadelphia is a perfect example. The state has advanced $15 million to continue deepening the Delaware River channel. This is a project that links our economy to the world.

You see, the Panama Canal is being widened and deepened to accommodate the new generation of tankers. Those ships can dock anywhere on the East Coast, from Virginia to Boston. Anywhere except Philadelphia, where the river is too shallow.

We want those ships tying up to the docks of Philadelphia the world's best inland port, once we complete the work. Estimates suggest that, over the next five years, as many as 75,000 jobs will be created or saved, both directly and indirectly. This is not just a compact with today's economy. It's a vindication of our history.

Philadelphia was founded as a port city. It received countless people into the New World. Through war and peace it has been our gateway to the Atlantic and beyond, and we intend to keep that gate open and welcoming the world and its commerce. This is not only good for Pennsylvania. It is good for the region and the nation.

So, I worked with our congressional delegation both Democrat and Republican alike, to send a message to the Obama administration: release the additional money to complete this crucial economic development project. Judging from today's news reports, it looks like we succeeded.

And, thanks to an innovative partnership, the giant shipbuilder Aker is currently constructing two tankers. Because of that, Exxon-Mobil has ordered two of a new generation of "supertankers." That shipyard will be booming for years to come. More than 1,000 jobs have been saved. Thousands more will be spun off as those tankers take shape and set sail.

Our energy producing fields continue to generate jobs. A somewhat overlooked side-effect that benefits all Pennsylvanians, in every corner of the state, is the estimated 40 percent average drop in home heating prices for Pennsylvanians who use our clean, abundant supply of natural gas. In the southeast alone, the average utility customer saved almost $700. The benefits of this growing industry are reaching every corner of our state and we are determined to see this industry produce new jobs and increased savings.

Right now, we are hard at work to bring a major natural gas processing plant to southwestern Pennsylvania. The best argument we can make to the company behind this project is Pennsylvania's embrace of free markets.

We also remain committed to dealing with the issues surrounding the closure of the refineries in Philadelphia. As we build a new energy sector, I am not willing to give up on the old one.

In Erie, the Governor's Action Team came to the aid of General Electric, which already employed 5,000 people at its locomotive plant. We made it possible for G.E. to expand and hire hundreds more at a new location in nearby Mercer County.

Business creates jobs where it feels welcome. Citizens live best when they are employed and don't live in the constant fear that what they earn will be taxed away.

This approach works. Our unemployment rate dropped by almost a full percentage point from the end of 2010 to this very moment, and, as the year began, it was still nearly a full percent below the national average. Our private sector workforce grew by 79,000 jobs.

In short, we continue to grow the kind of jobs that produce real prosperity. This is the road to recovery. We are on it. It sometimes runs uphill but thanks to your partnership in the past year, Pennsylvania is going in the right direction. We must not turn back now. The old approach of tax-and-spend was comfortable for some. In fact, it was so comfortable that it put our economy to sleep.

We cannot allow the debts of today to crowd out the dreams of tomorrow. If we don't act to reconfigure government and revamp how it provides services, we will find ourselves trapped in this same box every year. Difficult economies do not follow calendar years. Nor do they respect state borders. They require us to map state-level solutions to a national problem. Despite a catalogue of quick fixes at the federal level, and a swirl of conflicting theories, we are still living through the most difficult economic period in our lives.

So, today I bring before you a budget grounded in difficult realities but framed in the optimism that we are solving our problems. Once again, revenues do not match mandated, escalating costs. That means we must continue the course bravely charted by this assembly in the year just passed.

I am submitting to you a budget proposal that is at once lean and demanding. In the coming weeks we will sit down to work out the final details as we map out our course. But this map comes with boundaries. We will not spend more than we have.

We will not raise taxes. There is no talking around these limits. Every dollar taken in tax is one less dollar in the hands of a job-holder or a job-creator. Every dollar spent by government is one dollar less in the sector that creates real prosperity.

I am bringing before you a budget built on the decisions of last year. It is a budget that proposes more in the way of reforms by continuing to change the culture of government from one of entitlement to one of enterprise.

These tough decisions will lay the groundwork for the prosperity of tomorrow. It puts to you, the General Assembly, the question of precisely what role state government and our taxpayers should have in a variety of endeavors. I look forward to working with all of you in framing these priorities into a solid, responsible spending plan.

One of the major innovations I propose this year, the use of block grants, will be found in both our Basic Education and our Welfare budgets. Together, these two departments account for more than 70 percent of our spending. When we include Corrections and debt service, it's 90 percent.

So, with less to spend than we would like, we need to give more flexibility at the level where this money will be spent: the county and school district.

The old way of doing things - the pattern of big government, big policy, big spending - has left us with issues that will dog us long after this year's budget is passed. Our costs are driven in two ways. In the present time, we must pay expenses that run the state from day-to-day.

But out of immediate sight, yet threatening to undermine our present and future budgets are three problems bigger than a single budget. There are legacy costs, something which we will, whether we want to or not, be forced to address sooner rather than later.

Also, it is absolutely critical that we repair our unemployment compensation system.

As expenses rise along with our debt to the federal government, the cost of insuring workers threatens to overwhelm job creators. We have legislation in the General Assembly and we need to act on it now.

Lastly, it is also critical that we address our transportation issues. This is not a budget item. It is too large for that. Transportation must be confronted as its own distinct and separate topic. This problem has grown for the past several decades and it will not be solved overnight. But, whatever solution we enact must be a lasting one.

I have spent significant time considering this issue with my transportation team and developed some workable solutions. However, those solutions will only be possible with your input, assistance and support. I look forward to working with you.

As we wrote this budget, we looked first at what state government is really meant to do, and we asked if it would add or subtract from private sector jobs. For instance, this budget maintains funding for career and technical education. There is a very solid reason: it matches good jobs with trained people.

The widening gulf in family income tells us that we need to make certain our workforce is paired with the best jobs available. It also helps us repay a vast debt to the veterans now returning from service overseas. They are coming home after serving us. The least we owe them is the training to land a good job.

Maintaining our commitment to the technical professions and practical trades keeps a bargain with today and builds for tomorrow. As our energy sector expands and manufacturing revives, Pennsylvania needs a trained workforce ready to meet the demand for workers.

If we are going to harvest our resources, let's make certain Pennsylvania hands are working the machinery of industry.

The demands of a mixed economy, where free enterprise exists alongside government encouragement, teach some hard lessons. We cannot, in government, simply conjure up jobs. We can help businesses get a start, but we can't carry them. We can help train private sector workers, but we cannot be their employers. We can, at best, act as partners.

Pennsylvania competes with every other state in the union for factories, offices and corporate headquarters. The shorter we make the journey from the drawing board to the ribbon-cutting, the better our chances of growing jobs.

So, I am bringing before you a new and innovative program to create a robust employment market and a vital economy. We call it Jobs First PA. It comprises four programs: Pennsylvania Inc. The Comprehensive Job Matching System, Keystone Works, and The Targeted Industry Certificate Program.

We will roll out full details soon.

Briefly, Pennsylvania Inc. provides a single point of access between job creators and state government to speed the time between an idea and a business. Keystone Works would allow unemployed workers to continue their benefits while being trained by companies with available jobs.

The idea is to get the recently unemployed back to work as quickly as possible. The Targeted Industry Certificate program provides increased grants for college and trade school students who are training for high-demand occupations.

In short, we are targeting our workforce toward the jobs. The goal is simple: if there's a job to fill in a new or existing industry, we are determined to put that career opportunity into the hands of a Pennsylvanian.

And, yes, this budget continues the phase out of the capital stock and franchise tax.

At the Department of Community and Economic Development, we are at work finalizing a program I proposed last year, the Liberty Financing Authority. It will merge several programs under a single umbrella. The Liberty Financing Authority will provide the flexibility to direct loans to expanding businesses.

I want to be clear about this. The Liberty Financing Authority is not a series of grants. These are loans, money that will be repaid and rolled back into the nest egg from which we can help the next job-creator.

This line of underwriting might be the small difference in helping a job creator set up shop or to expand an existing one. This is the time to invest in the future. These programs can get us there.

One of our core functions is to provide for education at several levels starting with our youngest. We have less money than I would like, so we must adapt.

Earlier, I mentioned our proposal to use block grants to give counties and school districts the flexibility to adjust to their own, unique needs. That accounts for the transfer of four separate line items in to a single block grant. Right now, education spending is bound up in a thicket of outdated and time-consuming regulations and mandates.

The rationale here is clear. Local districts know better how to spend and allocate resources than do bureaucrats in Harrisburg. We leave the Basic Education Funding formula at its current level. There are no cuts. In fact, you will find a slight increase. Just as we did last year.

There has been some confusion, even deception, about what we did and did not do with the Basic Education formula last year. Some keep insisting we cut Basic Ed. This urban legend was spread by those who have the most to gain from additional funding at taxpayer expense.

Here is the truth. When the Obama Administration handed states billions of dollars in stimulus monies the previous administration reduced the state's share in the Basic Education funding formula. In its place, they put the stimulus funds. Almost a billion dollars worth.

These funds were one-time only earmarks by the president. The last thing they were intended for was to pay continuing, yearly, operating costs such as salaries. The term everybody kept hearing was that the stimulus funds were for "shovel-ready" projects.

Instead, by accounting sleight of hand, someone buried our problems under a layer of federal cash. Perhaps they misunderstood the meaning of "shovel ready." That money is gone. It's not coming back.

What we did, my administration and the men and women of the General Assembly, was to replace the state's share of money. In fact, at more than $5.3 billion, last year's budget was the largest amount the state's taxpayers have ever put into the Basic Education funding formula. The largest until this year.

So, I want the various special interests out there to understand this: If we are going to debate education funding, let's use real numbers.

What Harrisburg can do for education is to set standards — both for our schools and our government.

At the state level, we need to put things in the proper order when it comes to our priorities: student-family-teacher, in that order. Education reform is absolutely necessary. I want our public schools to work, to accomplish what we ask of them, and to do it for every student of every background in every part of the state.

Every child can learn. We need to instill that faith in every school in the state. Every school in Pennsylvania should be our best.

This also marks a moment when we need to open the discussion about how best to finance higher education in this state. We need to have a thorough, public and candid conversation about how best to deal with the spiraling costs and our own obligations.

One elected official recently laid out an ultimatum. He said: "Let me put colleges and universities on notice: If you can't stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down. Higher education can't be a luxury. It is an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford." Those were the words of President Obama in his State of the Union Address last month.

While I disagree with his prescription — which is to pass much of the cost on to the states — I think he is right that we need to confront the problem. I think we need to talk about this honestly and without rancor and dramatics.

To get that discussion started I am creating a panel on postsecondary education to study our system and to make recommendations on how our universities can best serve the students and citizens of this new century. I have appointed Rob Wonderling to head this panel.

Many of you will remember Rob as an accomplished member of the Senate, and a successful businessman, who now heads the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. I have asked Rob and his group to report back by Nov. 15.

As we continue to sort through the must-haves and the nice-to-haves, and compress government into its core functions, public safety stands as a central obligation.

Citizens of the commonwealth must be protected. If we have no other job maintaining civil order is it. Without safety there can be no society. My budget provides funding for a new cadet class of 115 state police troopers to begin this summer.

We have also streamlined public safety, bringing the state's Office of Homeland Security into the fold with the state police. The floods of the past summer have shown us all that a well organized emergency system is, quite literally, a matter of life and death.

I'm pleased to say the budget also contains matching funds to continue our recovery from this past summer's floods. And holding to our theme of reform, this is the first time in 10 years that does not require an increase in the Corrections budget.

Our Justice Reinvestment Initiative panel is at work finding ways to deliver justice for victims and corrections for offenders while stemming the costs of imprisonment.

Our commitment to Pennsylvania's neediest posed a special challenge. Welfare does not produce wealth. What we do in this field is a measure of our compassion as a people and of our vision as leaders.

If we believe in society, we must accept that we have a duty to care for and protect those among us who cannot fend for themselves. I am reminded of the words of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In the hardest of economic times he knew the danger of turning a moment's help into a life's dependence.

In his third State of the Union address, he said:

"To dole out relief in this way is to administer a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit. It is inimical the dictates of a sound policy. It is in violation of the traditions of America."

That's a powerful warning from a leader who was qualified to give it.

So what do we do? What tradition must we preserve? We can't maintain what we have been doing for 40, 50, even 60 years, when it hasn't improved the lives of the poor.

The budget I bring you is built to transform the public welfare system. Not to eliminate it but to 'right size' it. It modifies programs to give incentives to those who are able to transition from the welfare line to the employment line while it gives real relief to our poor.

We are proposing to merge seven separate budget lines into block grants.

This innovation will give counties the flexibility they need to identify their most pressing needs and apply funds as they know best.

All of these adjustments have been done with an abiding belief that the best route from the welfare line is to the work line by focusing on job creation. There is no other sensible way.

Yesterday marked the 101st birthday of Ronald Reagan, our 40th President. He was a man who supported Franklin Roosevelt and also understood Roosevelt's own warnings about the need for a balance between a vigorous government and an overbearing one.

He chose vigorous. Here is what he had to say:

"Government has an important role in helping develop a country's economic foundation. But the critical test is whether government is genuinely working to liberate individuals by creating incentives to work, save, invest and succeed."

Pennsylvania is, as I said, still in difficult times. Its future will rely on that sense of purpose that Reagan and Roosevelt both embodied. Another Roosevelt -Teddy Roosevelt - dedicated this building a century ago. He is often quoted as saying: "I dream of men who take the next step instead of worrying about the next thousand steps."

Here is that first step: We need a budget that employs simple honesty for the common growth of our commonwealth.
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We must continue the journey that will turn the road to recovery into the path to prosperity.

Let's get started.

More: Governor Corbett Discusses Budget Proposal, Praises Local Milton Business Success

Also: County Commissioner's Association Supports Human Services Development Block Grant Funding Proposal

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Pennsylvania Manufactures' Association Is Happy With Corbett's Budget Proposal

(HARRISBURG) Governor Tom Corbett's FY 2012-2013 budget continues the difficult but necessary work of imposing fiscal discipline on state government and positioning the commonwealth for economic recovery, said Frederick W. Anton III, President and CEO of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers' Association.

"Tom Corbett is a man of his word," Anton said. "When he pledged to make state government live within its means, just like Pennsylvania households and businesses do, he meant it. The governor's budget plan holds the line on spending, protects Pennsylvania's overburdened taxpayers, and makes additional improvements to our economic competitiveness. After too many years of borrow-and-spend profligacy, Tom Corbett's pro-growth agenda of fiscal responsibility is directing Pennsylvania toward a more prosperous future for the entire commonwealth."

Governor Corbett's FY 2012-2013 General Fund budget proposes to limit spending to the 2011-2012 level of roughly $27.15 Billion. Although slow economic growth has yielded approximately $500 Million less in state tax collections than expected, Corbett is holding fast to his pledge to oppose tax increases and instead will bring the budget into balance with additional spending reductions.

"Fiscal discipline is the first and most important step toward returning Pennsylvania to stronger economic growth and a better competitive position relative to other states," said PMA Executive Director David N. Taylor. "For too long, Pennsylvania has missed out on new jobs, capital investment, and economic growth due to chronic overspending in Harrisburg, high business taxes, lawsuit abuse, and regulatory overkill. Governor Corbett recognizes these challenges and is tackling them head-on, which is the hallmark of a true leader. On behalf of Pennsylvania's manufacturing sector, we thank Governor Corbett for being true to his principles and doing the difficult work of right-sizing state government."

The FY 2012-2013 General Fund budget also continues state government's commitment to phase out the Capital Stock and Franchise Tax, a business assets tax that employers pay regardless of their profitability. Combined with the highest-in-the-nation 9.99 percent Corporate Net Income Tax, Pennsylvania is one of the only states in America to impose both a business income tax AND a business assets tax. Under the original phase-out plan put forward by Governor Tom Ridge, state government would have stopped collecting the Capital Stock and Franchise Tax on January 1, 2009. Under the current phase-out plan, the CSFT rate fell to 1.89 mills on January 1, 2012 and will further drop to 0.89 mills on January 1, 2013, with the CSFT reaching zero on January 1, 2014.

"Ever since the crippling 1991 tax hike, Pennsylvania's employers have struggled under some of the highest business taxes in the nation. Ending the uncompetitive Capital Stock and Franchise Tax after five years of delay will at long last send a signal to employers and investors that Pennsylvania is serious about becoming job-friendly," Taylor said.

Founded in 1909 by Bucks County industrialist Joseph Grundy, the Pennsylvania Manufacturers' Association is a Harrisburg-based statewide trade organization representing the manufacturing sector in Pennsylvania's public policy process. Manufacturing is the largest sector of Pennsylvania's economy, adding $75 Billion of value annually, generating 13 percent of Gross Domestic Product, directly employing 575,000 Pennsylvanians, and sustaining millions of additional Pennsylvania jobs through far-reaching supply chains and distribution networks. To learn more about the association and its work, visit www.pamanufacturers.org

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Job Talks Need Substance

As the year 2012 commences, Democrats and Republicans alike are directing their attention toward bolstering the Commonwealth’s ailing economy and job creation. Lawmakers on both sides concur that there is significant work to be done as unemployment remains at an unacceptably high level. Both parties are looking towards tax credits targeted at stimulating specific industrial sectors. Unfortunately, the economic outlook for the Keystone state is becoming increasingly bleak as the burden of government is projected to skyrocket. Pennsylvania needs a twenty-first century government makeover in order to stave off a ballooning budget crisis and grow the economy. To this end, it is imperative for voters to select more conservative candidates that will make the necessary reforms and get the job done.

The Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office recently released its first annual report on the state’s five-year outlook. The office revealed several incredibly alarming statistics on the growth of government spending and debt. Welfare, corrections, and debt expenditures are projected to increase by more than seven percent per year. While these increases far exceed the anticipated two percent increase in annual revenues, Keystone pension contributions will mount by forty percent each year. These projections of the status-quo in Pennsylvania public policy threaten to undermine the state’s fiscal stability. As a result, immense spending cuts, tax increases, and uncertainty for the business climate will ensue.

Lawmakers must recognize the magnitude of the foreseen challenges facing Pennsylvania in the upcoming years. In order to successfully rank Pennsylvania amongst the most competitive states for business and economic growth, there must be more than tweaks and tax credits. Reforms to curb spending and debt must be accompanied with competitive labor and tax policies. Failing to act on the increasing burden of government spending and debt will pose a threat to economy recovery for years to come. An approach that caps government spending while raising revenues through business friendly policies that grow the private sector will propel Pennsylvania past its budget crisis and stagnant economy. Now is the time for bold leadership from state officials.

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Update: Rick Geist's challenger John McGinnis' Campaign Announcement for the 79th Legistlative District

Here is John McGinnis' official campaign announcement last night. His energetic speech focused on changing the cycle of corruption Harrisburg. McGinnis highlighted Rep. Geist's record of voting for the 2005 Pay Raise Scandal, his votes to increase his pension, and Geist's over usage of the ever popular per diem.

McGinnis says his campaign will be based around three R’s: Reform, Reality and Renaissance. “We’re maxed out as taxpayers in Pennsylvania,” McGinnis said. “As the government has grown at 5.3% in the 33 years since Rick Geist was first elected to office, we’ve had an economy that’s been stagnant and population growth that has been stagnant – that just doesn’t work.”

McGinnis says he won’t take a public pension, per-diems or a pay raise – and he says he’ll limit his time in office.“Just as the constitution says, you get a salary and you get mileage -- and that’s what I will take,” said McGinnis. “I will abide by the constitution of Pennsylvania.”

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State Representative Rick Geist to face primary challenge

Breaking News: John McGinnis host of WRTA's "Open Mic" is set to challenge longtime State Representative Rick Geist for the republican nomination this Spring here in the 79th legislative district. Doug Herendeen the host of WRTA's "The 11th Hour" has confirmed that Mr. McGinnis has resigned as host of "Open Mic" to focus on challenging Geist.

Geist is one of Harrisburg's "most senior" and powerful lawmakers and he is currently serving out his 17th consecutive two-year term in the state legislature. Geist serves as the Chairman of the the State House Transportation Committee. In his bio on his legislative website, Geist highlights that he is currently at "top of the seniority list in the House Republican Caucus."In addition to his Chairmanship, he serves as Majority Chairman of the Committee on Committees and is a member of the Commerce and Rules committees. Although powerful indeed, Geist hasn't faced a serious primary challenger in ages.

Geist's challenger, John McGinnis, is also an Associate Professor of Finance at Penn State Altoona. He has hosted "Open Mic" for almost five years now. John is heavily involved in the Blair County Tea Party and serves as Vice-President on the group's Board of Directors. The group often viewed by the GOP establishment here in Blair County as political outsiders, has helped John build some political momentum for a serious run against Geist who is now the local party's political patriarch since the defeat of Senate Pro Temp, Bob Jubelirer.

This race will be an interesting to follow since this is Geist's first primary challenger since he voted for the July 7, 2005 pay raise and took the "unvouchered expenses" provision at the time. Because of the voter outrage and backlash the law was repealed, but it is hard to predict whether or not voters in the 79th district still feel the urge to hold him accountable like they did Jubelirer.

WRTA: Finance Professor, Former WRTA Host to Challenge Representative Rick Geist

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Members of the Penn State Board of Trustees must be held accountable for their actions

After watching the memorial service yesterday that celebrated Joe Paterno's life, I ask how can anyone with any common sense at all think that Joe Paterno could have known exactly what Mike McQueary allegedly thought he may have seen and not have done something more about it? Joe Paterno made Penn State University what it is today. He was much more than a Football Coach. Without Joe they would not have the prestigious board to sit on. Joe Paterno, as a single individual, did more for Penn State than the Board of Trustees collectively.

The people who spoke yesterday at his memorial knew Joe. The real Joe, and that Joe never would have let anything happen to any child. Allegations are not findings of fact, they remain only accusations until an impartial hearing of the facts in a court of law results in, or fails to demonstrate, a finding of guilt.

It is essential to note several things that are facts: 1. Joe Paterno did not harm a child (and, in fact, he has contributed to many young men becoming responsible adults and fathers). 2. Joe Paterno did what is required in the State of Pennsylvania when an educator has a reasonable belief that a child has been abused or neglected 3. A football coach is not a mandated reporter in the State of Pennsylvania. 4. Despite doing what an educator is required to do when suspected abuse is identified, he wished he had done more. This admission does not imply guilt, it conveys his wish that he could have done more to protect children.

What harm would have been done to Penn State if the Board of Trustees had permitted a finding of the facts to occur before deciding whether it was appropriate to take action against Joe Paterno? Is it possible that the Trustees felt personally challenged by Joe Paterno's statement that he would retire at the end of the year and that they shouldn't waste a minute of their time debating what should happen to him? Is it possible that the Trustees were more concerned about demonstrating their control than about making a calm, deliberate, rational decision? Is it possible that, had they allowed the emotion of the moment to pass, that the Trustees might have made a wise decision rather than a fast decision? Clearly, the Trustees are now in a position of attempting to justify the "wisdom" of their action.

We cannot expect that they, as a group, will acknowledge any wrongdoing and, in that, they share the same response to alleged wrongdoing as Jerry Sandusky. By the way, are we really to expect that the only way you could safely inform Joe Paterno that he had been fired is by sending a note to his home, via a messenger, asking him to call you?

An old saying is that "Fools rush in where angels dare to tread." In my opinion. the Board of Trustees rushed in to make a quick decision in response to a highly emotion situation and in response to their perception that a football coach was challenging their authority. You, Trustees, are supposed to be leaders. You failed. You failed your university. You failed your public. And, unlike the person you fired, your failure will be your legacy.

There is no doubt that the Penn State Board of Trustees wrongfully dismissed Joe without due process, and should be ashamed of themselves. Members of the board should admit that they acted in haste and swallow their pride. Let the world know that they are Penn State Proud.

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Scrap Solar Subsidies

In recent years, Harrisburg politicians decided that Pennsylvania would play venture capitalist in the solar energy market. In an attempt to attract green jobs, the Commonwealth extended more than $180 million in loans and grants to develop solar panel production. Subsidies were so successful in creating an artificial market that solar energy credits completely collapsed in value leaving a surplus of solar panels. A Republican representative has decided to sponsor legislation to salvage the solar industry through more subsidies. This legislation defies the principles of limited government and free markets. Additionally, the legislation is projected to increase costs for both energy consumers and taxpayers.

Clearly the government caused the boom and bust of the solar market. The push by the Republican lawmaker for increased government intervention in this arena is ill-advised. The considered legislation is anticipated to cost Pennsylvania energy consumers more than $3 billion over the next decade and will prove costly to the taxpayer as well. Interestingly, ideological roles seemed to be reversed as the Democratic committee chair stands in opposition to the plan for increased solar subsidies. Despite Gov. Corbett’s objections, the Republican’s legislation has garnered enough co-sponsors in the House to pass. The legislation requires utility companies to triple their use of solar power by 2013. Over the course of the next decade, Pennsylvania’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act of 2004 requires that 18 percent of all energy sources from renewables.

The stringent mandates from the 2004 legislation and the current solar rescue package will be detrimental to the state’s already stagnate economy. The government sponsorship of solar and renewable energies diminishes the purchasing power of Pennsylvanians. Residential and commercial energy users will be coerced into paying more for their energy. The government is directly picking winners and losers in the economy as they buttress one sector at the expense of competing energy producers. Harrisburg’s mandates must be repealed as they are in opposition to free market competition which fosters innovation.

Providing more subsidies to fix an already distressed solar market is not the solution. There is another method to attract the green industry to Pennsylvania without imposing costly energy mandates on Keystone residents. By implementing policies to improve Pennsylvania’s business climate, policymakers can entice investment for not only green jobs, but all industries. Tax reform accompanied with a right-to-work law would be a catalyst to increase Pennsylvania’s economic competitiveness.

The government must stop playing venture capitalist with taxpayer money. Pennsylvanians should be given the opportunity to utilize the most affordable energy source. The Commonwealth is very fortunate to have an immense amount of coal and natural gas. These natural resources need to be part of the state’s energy portfolio for the future. Tremendous innovations have already occurred in recent years regarding renewables. Improving Pennsylvania’s business climate utilizing a free market is the best way to develop green energy technology and stimulate the Keystone economy.

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NIKE CEO Phil Knight defends Joe Paterno at today's memorial service

Leave it to Nike CEO, Phil Knight to say what most of us are feeling out here in the bloggersphere regarding the Jerry Sandusky scandal. I couldn't have said it better myself. Knight set the right tone here during Joe Paterno's memorial. This was a failure of an institution to act not a failure of Joe Paterno.

All the media who rushed to judgement and members of the Penn State Board of Trustees should be a shamed of themselves for how they treated Joe Paterno during this very difficult time. Paterno's legacy will live on in history, but the shame of what the media and the Penn State leadership did to Joe during the last three months will haunt them the rest of their lives.

Not good when the NIKE CEO calls out your Board of Trustees.


Also: Knight Rips Trustees At Paterno Memorial(MyFox Philly)

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