Pickpockets and Pawns vs. Putting Taxpayers First
Recently when referring to state workers, Rendell said,
“…they should put a statue of me up on their mantel place.”
Rendell continues his attempt to pick your pocket by increasing the state tax burden. It is important to note that Rendell has not completed a budget on time in 7 years. As we finish the 4th week past the budget deadline of June 30, the current budget impasse has drawn on longer than any budget since 1991, which was completed in early August of that year.
The Democrat majority in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives did not allow a budget bill to the floor for us to debate until July 16, 2009. The Senate had sent a budget bill to the House for consideration in May. The obstructionist strategy is a trademark of Rendell and his liberal Democrat accomplices to gain access to more of your hard earned money.
The Rendell strategy is to create a crisis situation and then use the pressure as leverage for his spending increases. When the budget is late, state legislators and executive branch state employees do not receive pay checks until after the budget is completed. The absent pay checks create an outcry from state employees to pass the budget.
The callous actions of Rendell and his Democrat accomplices are summed up in a 2007 quote from the current House Democrat Policy Chairman. Representative Mike Sturla was quoted in the Allentown Morning Call saying, “I don’t care if we stand people on their heads and shake pennies from their pockets.”
Since July 16, 2009 we have considered 3 budget proposals in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
The first proposal was a Republican amendment to House Bill 1416. The amendment provided a balanced budget that required no tax increases. The amendment was defeated by the Democrat majority with a vote of 95 Yeas and 103 Nays. One Philadelphia Republican voted with the Democrats, not one Democrat voted for the “no tax increase” budget proposal.
The second budget proposal considered was the Democrat budget proposal HB 1416. The legislation removed over $1 billion of higher education spending from the general fund, proposing to create a new fund for higher education. The Democrat Appropriations Chairman presented a menu of tax increase options to raise revenue for the new higher education fund. The Democrat proposal would have required tax increases. On July 17, 2009, HB 1416 was passed from the House to the Senate by a vote of 104 Yeas to 95 Nays. Three Southeast Pennsylvania Republicans joined the Democrat majority to pass the legislation.
The third proposal was considered by the House on July 21, 2009. The Senate Republican amendment to HB 1416 would have provided a balanced budget with no tax increases. The legislation was rejected by a vote of 150 Nays to 49 Yeas, with only 49 Republicans voting for the no tax increase budget.
I voted for both budget proposals that would have delivered a balanced budget with no tax increases. I voted against the Democrat budget that would have required tax increases.
Why do Democrat leaders continue to demand more from the taxpayers, especially during a time when tens of thousands are losing their jobs?
While defending the Rendell tax increase proposal, one of the House Democrat Committee Chairs, Representative Phyllis Mundy, stated, “I am getting extremely frustrated that, based on the letters and emails that I am receiving, nobody in the general public seems to recognize the extreme nature of the disaster that we are facing with this state budget.”
The ones who “don’t get it” are the politicians who keep trying to pick the pockets of taxpayers.
I will continue the fight to protect taxpayers.
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