The Pennsylvania Republicans have been offering us some sneak previews of their strategy for winning the 2018 State elections. A summary of this strategy appeared in an Inquirer op-ed by Laura Ellsworth, a Pittsburgh lawyer who hopes to be the Republican candidate for Governor. She writes, “And the so-called budget that just resulted from [Governor Tom Wolf’s] inaction reflects that lack of leadership: a downgrade of our credit rating, followed by more than a billion in borrowing…”
Jim Christiana, a Republican PA House member from Beaver County, has actually taken this issue of borrowing one step further by suing the Democratic Governor, Treasurer, and Auditor for fiscal miss-management for borrowing money to meet the State’s financial obligations.
There is no doubt that Republican gubernatorial hopefuls and lower ballot candidates will raise the issue that Pennsylvania’s credit rating has reached junk bond proportions over the next few months, but that was only because the State legislature refused to pass an income measure at the end of June. In fact,
!!!!!!!THE REPUBLICAN DOMINATED PA HOUSE TOOK A SIX WEEK SUMMER VACATION, THEREBY VIOLATING THEIR CONSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITY OF DEVELOPING A BALANCED BUDGET BY THE END OF FY 2017!!!!!!!!!
This message has to be clearly stated now – especially since one of the gubernatorial candidates is Mike Turzai – the Speaker of the PA House – who allowed his members to slack off while he watched our credit rating tumble.
As we enter 2018, let’s get the truth out to voters. Republicans need to understand that the State, like our households, cannot spend more that it earns. If they can’t figure out a way to bring in proper revenues, they need to step aside, and let people who can lead our government.