PA Gov. Corbett's budget- HUGE cuts in education, public schools, colleges, 1500 state employees

[old mark]

to go, cuts in medicade dental and drug coverage...just the beginning;

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/117585458.html

Of course, this must be approved by the legislature, which is totally controlled by the GOP...
500 State hospital employees to go, Temple and Lincoln and ALL state universities state funds cut at least 50%.

He also CUTS TAXES on stock investments and Marcellus Shale Oil, and restores tax cuts that were being phased out.

Just the beginning....

mark

[Bunny]

1. More info from the P-G:

HARRISBURG -- Making good on his promise not to raise taxes, Gov. Tom Corbett this morning released a $27.3 billion budget, slashing $866 million out of current spending through cuts in virtually every spending area.

The cuts bring spending back to 2008-09 levels.

The budget reduces basic education funding from $5.8 billion to $5.3 billion. It provides for school choice vouchers, while asking districts to negotiate with unions to freeze teachers' salaries and to eliminate salary bumps for those who earn master's degrees.

DCED funding, meanwhile, would be slashed from $337.9 million to $223.6 million under the Corbett plan. Lawmakers are expected to put up a fight to have funding restored to that department, which has been a pass-through for what has become known as "walking-around-money" -- grants for legislators' pet projects.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11067/1130526-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml#ixzz1G1ocnsuJ

Leave it to the Legislature to fight for their right to walking around money. :eyes: To the surprise of no one, this budget is really, really ugly.

[old mark]

2. Yeah, I don't expect them to fight anything else...and they will probably vote themselves

another raise...nt


mark

[Divernan]

4. They automatically get COLA raises every year

Some years back the legislature passed a law giving themselves Cost of Living Adjustments automatically every year. This applies to all state House Representatives, all state Senators and all state Supreme Court Justices. They did this because they got hammered by their opponents in every election for having voted themselves raises. So they just made it automatic. The Governor didn't call on the legislators to give up those raises, i.e., freeze their own salaries.

[Divernan]

5. Lethal cuts to Pitt and Penn State

What can they do? Close branch campuses? Reflects the GOP's commitment to dumbing down the electorate and forcing young people to volunteer to be cannon fodder for the profiteering wars of the military industrial complex.

[old mark]

6. Well, remember that only the middle class ane working class use the state U's

anyway...rich kids go to private schools...so don't worry- our future ruling class is safe!

mark

[PA Democrat]

12. My son attends Pitt and I received an email from the chancellor today

According to Chancellor Mark Nordenderg, Pitt would lose $110 million annually under Corbett's budget. This occurs after almost flat funding for the past decade.

Pennsylvania was already ranked fourth in the nation for the most expensive tuition for state and public colleges. If I were raising young children today, I would get out of PA, Only the wealthy will be able to afford college for their children at this rate. My parents put three of us through college (2 Penn State, 1 Pitt) and we all graduated with NO DEBT. We were middle class. Penn State was about $29,000 a year, Pitt $24,000 a year before these cuts. God knows how anyone will be able to afford to send their kids to school now.

[blue neen]

13. It has been a long time since I've despised a politician as much I despise Corbett.

He cannot possibly have a conscience. How can you cut education K-12, yet not charge the Marcellus Shale drillers even one cent in extraction taxes.

[Divernan]

15. He appeared to ENJOY announcing these cuts & was in your face about Marcellus Shale

Last time I looked, Pennsylvania had 501 school districts and therefore tremendous disparities in the quality of education provided to children. Now that Corbett is throwing in the vouchers for all, he's basically subsidizing all private schools/home schooling by further reducing funding to public schools. This puts the poorer school districts and their students even further behind.

And of course, the school districts/school boards will be drastically increasing property taxes.
Corbett threw out some bull shit about making local govts./school districts put tax increases on the ballot, but there are a lot of loopholes in state law allowing districts to increase taxes without referendums.

There are so MANY things he could have done or called for which were never mentioned.
1. Reduce the size of the Pennsylvania legislature, particularly the House. Make PA legislators document their per diem claims, instead of collecting undocumented $163 per day.
2. Call on local governments to COMBINE to get economies of scale for public services. Basically that would mean reducing the administrative costs while retaining public services. Onorato has been calling for that for decades, but all the local govt. poobahs HAD to hang on their little fiefdoms.
3. Combine PA's 501 school districts to create 100 - Rendell suggested that back in 2009.

I just came across an excellent article detailing legislative costs and how PA compares (very unfavorably) to other states and will start a new thread about that.

[Divernan]

16. Smirking, sneering House Speaker Sam Smith & bobble headed lt. gov. Jim Cawley

These two yahoos, sitting to either side of and behind the Governor, were on screen for the majority of Corbett's speech. Smith was smirking throughout and that was irritating enough. But the new Lt. Gov.!?!? My god, he couldn't have sucked up any more if he was Ed McMahon on the Johnny Carson show. Nodding, grinning and frowning - what a guy!
I'd never heard of him so looked up his bio. Here is the sum total of his experience:
"Professional Experience:
Chief of Staff, Office of State Senator Tommy Tomlinson, State Senate of Pennsylvania"

In other words, NADA. "Chief of Staff" where the staff was a secretary and a legislative assistant. Some state senators had only a legislative assistant and a secretary, so that would have made him a legislative assistant.

His main job was sucking up to the senator and scheduling the lobbyists' appointments.

Also interesting that his age is a closely guarded secret, but my best guess is 33.

[Divernan]

17. Bobble-head Lt. Gov. Cawley to head Marcellus Shale "Commission"

Corbett could not have found a lesser qualified, educated or experienced lamb to throw to the Big Oil wolves than this simpering suckup, total newbie of a politician. The guy is clearly a front man/rubber stamper for Corbett's secret deals with Big Oil. What? Gomer Pyle wasn't available? Golleee, Mr. Governor, these are sure some fine fellas.

From Corbett's speech:
"With that in mind I have asked my very capable Lieutenant Gov. Jim Cawley to lead a Marcellus Shale Commission to oversee how we can build around this new industry and how we can make certain we do this while protecting our lands, our drinking water, our air, and our communities, all the while growing our workforce. I've directed Jim and the commission to get back to me with findings in 120 days."

[PA Democrat]

20. Excellent suggestions, Divernan.

Instead, these idiots will undermine the future of PA by slashing and privatizing education.

[ChadwickHenryWard]

22. This will do two things.

Raising tuition always does two things. First, it decreases the number of people who attain higher education, because more people are now unable to afford it. And secondly, it saddles those that do go with even more onerous debt. It may be tempting for Corbett to target students because young people have the lowest voter turnout, but in 10, 15, or 25 years, this policy is going to have much more wide-spread implications than just for students. It will decrease the size of the middle class in PA (because fewer people will have a good education) and those that manage to hold on to their middle class status will suffer under and enormous burden of debt. This inevitably will cause more defaults, and the banks will suddenly find themselves invested in a lot of bad debt (boy, this is starting to sound familiar.)

[demodonkey]

7. Meanwhile retired teachers haven't had a COLA for many years....

It is really getting rough especially on teachers who retired 20 or more years ago whose pensions weren't much to begin with.

[Divernan]

11. No COLAs for widows of police and firemen either.

The older ones get less than $100 a month.

[old mark]

18. I was a PA state employee-we got 1 COLA when I was working-One since 1973,

when we first unionized...I am a retiree now, and don't expect any increases ever.

mark

[old mark]

3. Text of Corbett's speech here:

http://www.wfmz.com/prnewswire/index.html?prnewsid=201103081150PR_NEWS_USPR_____DC61257&prnhline=Governor-Tom-Corbett-2011-12-Budget-Address


mark

[demodonkey]

8. Thanks.... I hate to say this but I fell asleep watching him.

Was up most of the night worrying about my 92 year-old mother being pursued by medical predators for unjust hospital bills she rightfully should not owe.

[old mark]

9. We filed bankruptcy over medical bills many years ago...

I know how you feel.
They are fucking vultures.

FWIW, the same hospital nearly killed me 3 times by ignorant mistakes and a staph infection.

mark

[PA Democrat]

10. "Corbett swings budget ax at schools, colleges"

That was the Pittsburgh Post Gazette headline. The message is clear:

Corbett will continue to reward the WEALTHY and CORPORATIONS while he inflicts very real pain on the poor and middle class and especially on students. Pennsylvania's state colleges are already the fourth highest in the country. No wonder young people are getting the hell of Pennsylvania.

[femmocrat]

14. Nothing much to add ....

except :grr: !!!

I will attend any marches in Harrisburg! If you hear of any, please let us know!

[old mark]

19. PA state employees are forbidden by law from engaging in politics beyond voting

or donating to candidates. When I was a PA employee, we were told before every election that we should not even have bumper stickers on our cars that were even remotely political or we could be fired immedately.
Politicians of course have no such law, only state workers, who thus become easier targets.

mark

[ChadwickHenryWard]

21. What really disturbs me is the revenue cuts.

Why, during a time of ubiquitous budget shortfall, are we not only refusing to pursue new sources of revenue but eliminating existing sources? Cutting taxes on polluting industry and financial hocus pocus, and selling off the liquor stores? Why are we throwing all our money away? This is exactly what Walker has done in Wisconsin - he's creating his own budget crisis, and he's going to use it to extract painful concessions from the middle class.