Posted on 02/22/2011 10:47:51 AM PST by bjcoop
Gov. Tom Corbett has no plans to follow the path of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, whose push to reduce the strength of public employee unions has sparked more than a week of protests in the Midwest state.
Corbett will instead focus on upcoming negotiations with state employee unions whose contracts expire at the end of the year, said Kevin Harley, the governor's press secretary. Harley declined to say whether Corbett will seek contract concessions as part of the talks.
"It's too early to tell but certainly the state is in a difficult position financially," he said. "Obviously, the governor is focused on presenting a balanced budget without raising taxes."
Corbett, who must present his first budget March 8, long before the contract talks will conclude, is saying little about how he will eliminate a deficit projected as high as $5 billion and keep his election promise to not raise taxes. Most observers expect sharp program cuts across state government.
Like many states, Pennsylvania is facing a multibillion-dollar deficit, and the negotiations with the unions represent an opportunity to reduce costs. Harley did not directly explain why the governor would not consider measures like the ones Walker is pursuing.
"We're focusing on Pennsylvania and not Wisconsin," Harley said.
In Wisconsin, Walker aims to eliminate deficits by cutting union benefits, eliminating unions' ability to negotiate anything but wages and restricting the amount of raises. He also wants to eliminate rules that require people to belong to a union and pay dues or "fair share" contributions instead of dues.
Matthew J. Brouillette, president and chief executive officer of the conservative Commonwealth Foundation, said for Corbett to balance the budget without raising taxes and establish long-term economic growth, he must take on unions, which "have a stranglehold on the taxpayer's neck."
"They are the ones who advocate for higher taxes and higher spending and even more government," Brouillette said. "They are the people directly responsible for the fiscal disaster in Pennsylvania."
Over the years, various pushes to reduce the power of unions, including the repeal of the 1970 law that allowed them to organize, have failed.
Republican and Democratic Pennsylvania governors alike have played a role in developing the existing state employee union contracts.
While Democratic former Gov. Ed Rendell's administration negotiated the current contracts, it was under Republican Gov. Tom Ridge that the state implemented the large increases in pension benefits for state and public school employees that are so much at the heart of Pennsylvania's budget woes.
Wythe Keever, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the umbrella organization for most Pennsylvania public school teachers unions, said the association has received no indication from the governor or General Assembly that they intend to pursue Wisconsin-like measures.
What is going on in Wisconsin amounts to an attack on the middle class because the elimination of unionization removes the incentive for employers to offer competitive wages and good benefits, Keever said. Before teachers could unionize, they suffered with wages lower than sanitation workers, he said.
The lower people's wages are, the less money they have to spend on the goods that fuel the nation's economic health, he said.
Corbett, I believe, will turn out to be a disappointment. He’s already wavering on ObamaCare. My state has a hard time electing true leaders.
Corbett is part of the Republican establishment club. I would be surprised if he will make tough choices. Voters better make him aware that increasing their taxes again is no longer an option. Options are eliminate programs and waste, reduce the size of government employees and/or privatize many government programs.
A Rendell — and now Corbett — Bailout: Building Ships With No Buyers
On February 17, Governor Tom Corbett authorized the $42 million shipyard bailout. Two ships will now be constructed — even though there are no buyers, nor any in the foreseeable future — and hundreds of union jobs will now be subsidized. So much for the pledge of responsible government and fiscal restraint, especially in light of the $5 billion budget deficit. The wildly successful model that Gov. Christie has given his colleagues — popularity will rise if you stick to your campaign promises — is, incomprehensibly, falling on deaf ears. http://www.wopular.com/rendell-and-now-corbett-bailout-building-ships-no-buyers
I saw that too regarding the shipyard. He probably will end up being another RINO. I was hoping for Sam Rohrer in the primary. PA will not be able to dig out from the mess we’re in.
Corbett will instead focus on upcoming negotiations with state employee unions whose contracts expire at the end of the year,
Which of course means that he will do nothing at all.
Pa. needs someone to step up and kick ass, not another Arnold.
>The lower people’s wages are, the less money they have to spend on the goods that fuel the nation’s economic health, he said.
Not only BS but an abject lie.
That money comes from OTHER workers whose wages & benefits are well under public sector, and THAT means less money to buy goods and services by everyone else.
The state cannot print money and the rest are just serfs and wage slaves whose function is to pay the endless demands of union organizers forever.
Looks like he will end up just another Harrisburg Whore; and in short order.
A lot of people, especially myself, were suspicious of him.
Darn, I thought he’d be a good one.
So many on here are so quick to throw everybody under the bus if they don’t produce instant results.
Childish, really. The guy has been governor for a month. Give him some time before you give up on him.
I’m not giving up on him yet. He’s better than what was being put forth, but seeing these types of reports is concerning.
He doesn’t have the votes for an all-out assault. So it would be a wasted effort that would poison any chance of getting anything meaningful done.
You know what the people are like in PA. They will need to be led gently away from the blue collar union Democrat mentality.
Giving 42 million to shipyard in Philadelphia with no buyers at all is kind of alarming.
People in PA need to make this Corbett step up or start packin’ his bags and have them ready in 2014 to leave office.
Pressure this weiner.
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