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PA-BGT: DePasquale Has a Budget Solution

DePasqualeWe’re entering our third month now without a budget.

Citizens throughout the commonwealth have their own ideas about how to solve this impasse, so it probably shouldn’t be a shock that Auditor General Eugene DePasquale is one of them.

Perhaps, however, it was a bit surprising that he would actually voice them aloud. Although, by this point, maybe his blunt honesty will be welcomed.

As detailed by Jan Murphy of the Patriot-News, DePasquale segued from his statement on an audit of PA schools to give a short rundown of what he believes needs to take place in order to secure a budget deal.

“Find out some compromise on the shale tax. Use that money for education,” DePasquale offered. “Find a bit extra money to get the governor closer to his spend number [on education], which I think he clearly won the election based on education. Then work out a fiscal responsible pension reform plan that I think all the parties can buy into and help save money and protect retirees.”

The Auditor General then transitioned to the issue of liquor privatization.

“On the liquor store side of it, all I can tell you is that consumers want more convenience and there’s a way to find a compromise to do that as well,” he declared.

“I think if everyone locked themselves in the Governor’s Residence for a weekend and were willing to come up with a deal on those three things, they could do it within a weekend,” the Auditor General predicted.

No word yet if the Governor intends to invite him over for drinks and a chat.

13 Responses

  1. People don’t want to spend more money on “education” to re-turf the school football field. We already spend way more money than any other country in the world on education and our kids are dumber than ever. How about this – pass comprehensive property tax reform, governor – you know, the thing you promised to do when you were running for the job you now hold…

  2. “he was elected because he was not Tom Corbett.”

    Bingo. A potted plant would have beaten Corbett. Wolf needs to remember that not everyone voted for him because of his platform. Many of us were voting against his opponent.

  3. Davis….. Spoken like a True Republican supporter of the continuation of no extraction tax on oil and gas. That is totally unacceptable. I live in a region where the roads are being destroyed by the frackers trucks, any road I drive on there are convoys of frackers trucks, and they sue local municipalities for the right to drill near water sources. No impact fee covers that. Oil and gas has to pay an extraction tax. Every state but Pennsylvania has one. The pension problem was caused by the State Legislature when they voted themselves a 50% raise at 2am in the morning in 2001 and didn’t fund it for 14 years. That is their mess. State Workers and Teachers who received a 25% raise they didn’t ask for should not be forced to suffer the consequences for a money grabbing legislative body voted themselves. Incidentally all current lawmakers are grandfathered into the current plan. They stay the same no matter what. The legislature made the mess let them clean it up.

  4. Wolf ” Clearly won the election based on Education” !!
    Wow….Another ” Political Guinness ” speaks !
    As Abe Lincoln is often Quoted ” Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt.”

    Maybe the Current Auditor General should be more concerned with his own Election next year than weighing in on subjects that “Clearly” escape him. After calling for the First Democrat and Female to win the Office of Attorney General in Pa to resign he should be more worried about a Primary Election Challenge from a “Real Democrat” maybe even a Female !

  5. Education funding was Wolf’s mechanism for election message, but he was elected because he was not Tom Corbett. Think the AG is on target with what needs to occur, basically shale tax (that keeps locals whole with current impact fee levels) in exchange for meaningful pension reform, which will also positively impact education dollars for education vs pension obligations.

  6. De Pasquale statement on a Budget Compromise is just that. There are no specifics on any of the issues. The Governor has been working hard to get a fair Budget for the people of Pennsylvania that elected him with a clear majority to do so. I believe if DePasquale has something to help these negotiations he should say exactly what they are. General statements without specifics do no good except bring attention to DePasquale for whatever reason. The old saying THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS rings true here.

  7. Funny this is news now because it’s almost exactly the GOP compromise plan they presented to the Governor nearly 2 weeks ago. They offered his spend number on education, had already agreed to his social services spending as part of the original budget, and reduced their pension reform from saving $30 to $12 billion. I bet the GOP might even give in on some compromise on a shale tax IF the money actually went 100% to education, which the Governor’s plan doesn’t do. The sad fact is, this Governor doesn’t want to deal — he wants his billions of dollars in tax increases without capping property taxes, and until he gets it he is continuing to hold PA hostage.

  8. some of this might help, but compromise gets u only so far. meaningful achievement will take a dem majority in both general assembly houses.

  9. It really says something, when some common sense statements are viewed as heresy by the Ruling Class in Harrisburg. they are not working for the people of Pennsylvania, that much is clear.

  10. Why not HB 76.We need to be released from the unfair tax.We worked so hard to keep our homes,all our live and are being punished as a property owner. All should contribute to school taxes, not just the home owner. I am a retired widow worked all my life and now struggle to pay these unfair taxes.

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