Dec 18, 2016 2 min read

Thanks to budget cuts and tax breaks for corporate America by our Pennsylvania legislators, Pennsylvanians will soon be able to pay more for services.

This is corporate America’s dream come true. Legislators approved a gas rate that goes into effect today. It’s a hefty 7.34 percent increase for gas on homeowners like me and you.

Thanks to corporate tax cuts and breaks, our water and sewage bills will soon go up. Allegheny County taxpayers, using the Pittsburgh Water and Sewage Authority, will get to pay a 13 percent increase on their water bill in 2017, an 11 percent increase on their sewage bill in 2017 and another 8 percent increase in their water bill in 2018.

These increases should come as no surprise and should be met with a glad heart. After all, we voted for these increases when we elected, with a super majority, a Republican-controlled Senate and House in Pennsylvania. Liberal Governor Tom Wolf can do nothing about it. His veto power is worthless. When our local water and sewage authorities finish their budget process, we in Fayette County, may find a nice, long overdue increase in our water and sewage bill as well.

These increases should matter little to the taxpayers of Fayette County because the coal mines and a new steel mill in Monessen will soon begin operations as promised by your newly-elected president, providing thousands of really great high-paying jobs for southwestern Pennsylvania.

James Sloan

Hopwood