Bad news
Things have gotten so bad in the state Legislature in Harrisburg that a number of inmates are fleeing the asylum.
So far, 16 incumbents — 11 Republicans and five Democrats — have announced they will not seek re-election. Some are doing it for career reasons. State Rep. Dwight Evans, for instance, is quitting to run against U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah.
But a number said they are departing the scene because they essentially have lost faith in the chambers where they have served. As state Rep. Peter Daley, D-California, put it: “I’m benching myself for a while.”
Daley has served in the state House for 34 years. In his view, “Harrisburg is becoming a very difficult place to get anything done, and I don’t think it is going to get better.” In reality, the political system of compromise that allowed for two-party rule in the capital has been seriously damaged, thanks mostly to a cadre of tea party conservatives who would rather see government falter or fail than see taxes raised.
We fear it will get worse, because a number of Republicans who are retiring were moderates who found themselves increasingly at odds with fellow party members. Many are likely to be replaced by hard-right conservatives.
Consider state Sen. Scott Wagner, a wealthy York County businessman, who is the Sgt. Rock of the hard-right conservatives.
While some Republicans are ashamed that their party has lost the will to compromise, Wagner is damned proud of it. He’s happy that the Legislature and Gov. Wolf have been unable to reach agreement on a new budget.
Wagner looks forward to the next budget fight with Wolf. As he told one Republican group recently: “We had him down on the floor with our foot on his throat and we let him up. Next time, we won’t let him up.”
The next time is rapidly approaching. Wolf is scheduled to deliver his budget proposal for the 2016-17 fiscal year to the Legislature on Feb. 9.
It might seem silly to propose a new budget when the old one hasn’t passed, but it’s a requirement of law.
The state is operating under a stopgap budget that Wolf signed after various budget deals fell apart late last year. It funds most of government for a half-year, which means that in the spring, we will see a repeat of what happened last fall — payments to school districts and social service agencies sliding to a halt. By signing this stopgap, Wolf and the Legislature gained time, but not a resolution to their differences.
The fundamentals of the state’s financial troubles remain the same: It spends more than existing taxes yield. It has done this for a number of years, but the problem was papered over by gimmicks and by making deep cuts in aid to education.
Unless more money comes in, the state will face increasingly larger deficits. Wolf has proposed increasing taxes to stabilize the state’s financial condition and to restore the cuts made to education. Wagner and other Republicans like him in the Legislature blocked all attempts at compromise last year.
It proved impossible to get a budget funded with tax increases last year. We fear it will be even harder this year, with so many legislators facing re-election, except for the 16 who are fleeing the scene of what looks like another train wreck.
– The Philadelphia Daily News