Welcome to Common Sense Weekly! This is the Commonwealth Foundation's weekly news roundup of policy issues being debated in Harrisburg and across Pennsylvania.
Harris’ Energy Flip-Flop Doesn’t Change Her Terrible Record
Dr. Maya Angelou once said, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time." If so, Vice President Kamala Harris let everybody know long ago who she is — especially her disastrous views on energy.
Harris’s years-old campaign promises — from banning hydraulic fracturing to abolishing the filibuster so Congress can pass the Green New Deal — return to haunt her.
"There’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking," said Harris in 2019 during her failed primary bid to become president.
High Gas Prices Threaten Pennsylvania’s Economy
Summer road trips and tourism are integral to Pennsylvania. From riding buggies in Amish Country to visiting Gettysburg’s battlegrounds, people nationwide journey to the Keystone State for summer vacation. The Pennsylvania Tourism Office’s latest numbers calculate the industry’s impact on Pennsylvania’s economy at $76.7 billion.
However, Pennsylvania’s high gasoline prices threaten this bellwether industry — which, in 2022, supported 486,000 jobs and brought in $4.7 billion in state and local tax revenues — by complicating travel within the commonwealth.
And it’s not just tourism. High gasoline prices have a much broader, deeper consequence: whether Pennsylvanians can afford everyday necessities. Energy costs correlate with overall inflation, straining budgets with expensive utility bills.
Shapiro’s Backward Budget
Pennsylvania’s most precious resource – people – are leaving. Gov. Josh Shapiro’s newly adopted 2024–25 state budget, once more, mimics the policies of other declining states, guaranteeing this downward trend will continue.
From 2013 to 2023, Pennsylvania, on average, lost 25,000 people annually to other states through migration.
Where did they go? Recent Independent Fiscal Office analysis shows Pennsylvanians moved to Florida, the Carolinas, Delaware, and Texas. Today, more income flows out of Pennsylvania than in – on net, a negative $2.76 billion.
Pennsylvania's Spending Billions More Than We Can Afford
Harrisburg celebrates the newly signed 2024–25 state budget. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, his fellow Democratic lawmakers, and even state Senate Republicans see the budget as “fiscally responsible.”
However, a deeper dive into the numbers reveals the exact opposite: ever-growing budget deficits with negative impacts on taxpayers for years to come.
At the end of the current fiscal year, the state will hold a projected $10 billion in reserves, a seemingly strong fiscal position. Yet, despite billions of dollars in reserves, Pennsylvania’s fiscal planning is anything but sound.
