Insult+on+Time

=//Published in the York Dispatch//= =//7/1/11//= = = = = =There's not a lot to like in the $27.2 billion state budget Gov. Tom Corbett signed just before midnight Thursday.= =But hey, at least it was on time for a change, right?= =Don't all cheer at once.= =Let's face it, though -- Pennsylvania had to get its fiscal house in order. We couldn't keep spending billions we don't have, figuring we'll deal with the consequences later.= =And we knew it wasn't going to be easy.= =Corbett and the Republican-controlled Legislature decided it was time for spending cuts, 3 percent less to be spent than the previous budget, to put "us on the road to financial recovery."= =Agreed.= =The plan eliminates $1.1 billion in education spending -- 10 percent less for basic education and 20 percent less for state-supported universities -- and will likely lead to higher tuition and local property taxes, as well as layoffs and program cuts.= =That's going to be ugly and painful, but ...= =Agreed.= =It also wrings hundreds of millions from the state Department of Public Welfare, supposedly by eliminating fraud and increasing efficiency.= =That's a crucial safety net for our elderly, sick and poor, but if that's what it takes and can be done without harm ...= =Agreed.= =And while cutting these and other state programs, the GOP deemed it necessary to //lower// business taxes and continue to give companies drilling in the state's Marcellus Shale region a pass.= =Oh, and they were doing so well.= =But the fact is, in the end this budget is not about shared sacrifice.= =Only average, hard-working Pennsylvanians are expected to shoulder this burden.= =That's what will be remembered about this budget -- not that the insult was delivered on time.= = = =News= =home=