Welcome to Common Sense Weekly! This is the Commonwealth Foundation's weekly news roundup of policy issues being debated in Harrisburg and across Pennsylvania.
Lies, damn lies, and two weeks to flatten the curve.
March 13: the fourth anniversary of Pennsylvania’s “two weeks to flatten the curve.”
Governor Tom Wolf issued his first executive order, closing all schools. He would ultimately issue countless executive orders in 2020 and 2021 — including telling us all to stay home and inside without legislative or voter approval.
You may recall that the last of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties was not allowed to go “green” and “re-open” until July 3. That was the “thriving metropolis” of Lebanon County. Why? Because their commissioners had voted not to enforce lockdown punishments in their county. Wolf’s decision underscored his approach: Arrogance. Abuse of Power. Shamelessness.
PA House Democrats planning more business-destroying tax hikes
At a House Democratic Policy Committee hearing on Wednesday, workers testified about the challenges of working in a state where the minimum wage hasn’t budged since 2009.
“This is more of a call of action,” state Rep. Ryan Bizzarro (D-Erie), committee chairperson, said at the hearing, held at SEIU Local 668 in Philadelphia. “We’ve been talking about this issue for many years.”
How Government Unions Push for Bad Policy
On Monday, the Commonwealth Foundation released a report titled "State of the Unions: Examining Union Membership in State Government," which found that while union membership is declining across the country, public sector unions are thriving.
Those very unions, meanwhile, have thrown considerable amounts of cash behind Democratic causes in recent years.
"The report demonstrates that some state governments are even more beholden to unions than we thought," David Osborne, the Commonwealth Foundation's senior fellow of labor policy, told Fox News Digital.
"Not only do unions play politics and lobby with union members' money, but they also have members directly affecting public policy and driving political decisionmaking as state employees," Osborne continued. "It's a level of influence no other special interest group would be permitted to exercise."
Gov. Shapiro's Transit Bailout Is Bad News for Taxpayers
Gov. Josh Shapiro thinks mass transit is too big to fail. In his recent budget address, Shapiro pitched sending roughly $300 million every year from Pennsylvania taxpayers to bail out failing urban transit agencies.
If the governor isn’t careful, this bailout could derail his 2024–25 budget negotiations.
Pennsylvania mass transit agencies – namely, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) – rely on scare tactics to lobby for more taxpayer subsidies. Reporting a $240 million budget shortfall, SEPTA is now threatening to raise fares and cut service to offset the shortfall.
PA House Democrats Finally Return to Harrisburg
After a long hiatus blamed on a leaky roof, House Democrats have finally returned to Harrisburg to debate the state budget. Unfortunately, they've joined with Gov. Shapiro and proposed massive tax hikes along with spending increases. That's the wrong path forward for Pennsylvania. Tell Shapiro Pennsylvania needs a fiscally responsible budget.
