Federal Budget and the "New" PA Legislature

With over a month into the new regimes in Washington and Harrisburg, there has been much talk centered around cutting spending.  However, there seems to be a word missing from both the state and federal vocabulary and we will get back to that later.

This week President Obama published his 3.7 trillion spending plan.



You can see from the video not much is taken from the Big Two: Entitlements and Defense.  Think of the over 2 billion a month that has been spent in Iraq since 2003.  Think of the money in Afghanistan since 2001.  Most of it was borrowed and not on budget.  Egypt's government fell in 18 days with Facebook.

The GOP who promised 100 billion in cuts.  So far great promise has come up with 61 billion.

As long as both sides don't address these two issues, the banter is simply bullshit.

If your poor, this budget isn't for you.  If you think your middle class, hang on for dear life.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has a different type of problem.  A 4 billion dollar budget hole exists and of course no clear plan has been presented.   Once again the PLCB has a for sale sign on it.  If you look at legislation introduced in the first month there are 3 Senate Bills that are scary.

With everything going on in the Commonwealth, Senate Bill 1 has to do with school vouchers.  The idea has had merit for years, but doesn't attack the real problem, poverty.

PA Senate Bills 305 and 447 brick-by-brick try to take down our environmental laws in order to give the gas drillers a free pass.

SB305 - Feel free to pollute unless you plan to pollute.

SB447 - GOP Rape of PA.

Check out this little ditty buried in 447:

§ 3492. Trade secrets.

(a) Right to privacy. Confidential proprietary information or trade secrets submitted by parties during proceedings under this chapter may not be disclosed by the commission or any other parties privy to such information or secrets. The information may be submitted under seal for review by the administrative law judge only and shall be exempt from the act of February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know Law.

 
Why do we need to know what's going on?

We are glad Newt Gingrich is coming to the rescue to abolish the EPA. 

Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati had a little explaining to do. Although perfectly legal to do in Pennsylvania, but not anywhere else in the country,  Mr. Scarnati had his Super Bowl trip paid for by Consol Energy Inc.

Thank goodness for Mr. Scarnati, Tom Corbett is not the AG.  Oh wait, it's perfectly legal anyway.

After all the BS you have heard from both side of the aisle, the missing word of the month is JOBS. Again, let's spell it out loud, J-O-B-S.  Are you not surprised the last two letters are "B" and "S".