State+Budget+is+a+Body+Blow+to+the+Neediest

=Published by the Scranton Times-Tribune= =6/30/11= = = = = =The meat-ax state budget cannot rightly be called an austerity budget. It imposes austerity upon no one other than those who already face that condition.= =Every budget reflects the political philosophy of its authors. But this budget, concocted by Republicans who control the House, Senate and governor's office, is little more than an ideological manifesto. It relentlessly diminishes institutions that are vital to the well-being of the commonwealth's most vulnerable residents while pandering relentlessly to monied narrow interests.= =Lawmakers scaled back Gov. Tom Corbett's assault on public education but only in terms of raw numbers. The budget is a cynical exercise in educational and social regression.= = Since the 2008-2009 school year, the state government has attempted to increase funding for poorer districts in order to narrow vast funding disparities, and per-pupil resources, between affluent and poor districts. This budget will result in funding reductions for all 500 school districts but erase the progress that has been made to close the gap. = =Districts in Northeast Pennsylvania will lose more than $51 million, about $13 million less than had been proposed by Mr. Corbett. A good example of the regression was reported by Sarah Hofius Hall of The Times-Tribune: Carbondale Area School District, with 61.7 percent low income students, will receive 7 percent more than Mr. Corbett had proposed. Abington Heights, with only 13.8 percent low-income students, will have 47.8 percent of its originally proposed cut restored.= =Part of the disparity is because poorer districts rely on state funding for higher percentages of their budgets. But that, of course is the point.= = Lawmakers diminished the size of public education cuts mostly by substituting massive social service cuts that adversely will affect the same population. They include sweeping cuts in child care, outpatient Medicaid, child support enforcement, aid for the homeless and on and on. = = Budgeteers were equally aggressive in nurturing the wealthy. They did not enact an "impact fee" on the gas industry. They reduced corporate taxes without closing the Delaware loophole, which enables more than 70 percent of corporations doing business in Pennsylvania to evade the corporate net income tax. = = Meanwhile, lawmakers agreed to return about 26 percent of the taxpayers' money that they unconscionably hoard as a surplus - $50 million of $188 million - while refusing to use a projected revenue surplus of about $700 million to mitigate the deep budget cuts. And, of course, they increased funding for the Legislature. = =The $27.15 billion budget includes nearly a 4 percent reduction in spending. But its main feature is an egregious reduction in fairness.= = Read more: [] = = = =News= =home=