Posted on 01/21/2007 7:25:07 AM PST by dirtboy
He has ignored the reality about taxes and spending - that they drive away jobs and talent.
In Tuesday's inaugural address, Gov. Rendell celebrated the huge spending increases of his first term and promised more in his second. Yet evidence from all across America shows that real progress for Pennsylvania won't come from a tax-and-spend approach to state government.
Consider tax policy during the 12 years immediately preceding Rendell's first term. The Cato Institute found that the top 10 tax-cutting states experienced 17 percent more growth in personal income than the top 10 tax-hiking states during this time. Even more impressive, those tax-cutting states produced 40 percent greater employment growth than their tax-hiking competitors.
Unfortunately, after taking office in 2003, Rendell made Pennsylvania one of the top 10 tax-hiking states. Although it was worse before Rendell took office, still we are now ranked only an anemic 38th in job creation among states and 41st in personal income growth. All of which adds to the mountains of evidence that lower taxes and less government lead to prosperity and opportunity, and higher taxes and more government lead to economic stagnation and relative decline.
Instead of learning from his mistakes of the last four years, last week the governor proposed further expansion of state government, new entitlements, and higher spending, which can lead only to still higher taxes and more jobs going to other states.
ping
The 4% city wage tax doesn't help either. I have tried to place some people in Philadelphia hospials but the won'tgo because of the City wage tax enacted during the depression.
The people of Pennsylvania (unfortunately, I am one) deserve exactly what they get. They voted liberal in almost every instance, and I will not fail to remind them.
I thought a lot of people were leaving NJ because the PA tax was less than half what they had to pay before. The property tax is not as bad, either.
It doesn't help that the PA GOP ran two dolts against Rendell.
That can be said of just about every governor. Here in CT every year in October they tell us we have about a half billion dollar surplus. By January we're in the hole again. This year by about 600 million. It's tax and spend at every level of govt. these days.
Hey PI, you backed him. Welcome to Frankenstein's Law: You make the monster, you live with the monster.
Heck, many of them voted liberal TWICE or more! Recall that some precincts had more Dem votes than registered voters!
I think it made no differrence, these are the people that voted out Santorum.
I have a co-worked who tranferred from Hartford, CT to Greensburg, PA.
He says his taxes didn't change.
So Pennsylvania, you now pay as much in taxes as Connecticut.
(written as I look at the Monroeville Mall)
This is a guest editorial by Pat Toomey - you know, the conservative that Bush and Santorum back-stabbed to re-elect Arlen Specter, who subsequently seldom passes up a chance to back-stab Bush on national security issues.
The Rendell strategy worked...right after getting elected, he went on a spree around the state handing out multimillion "redevelopment" checks in key areas of GOP weakness. Many country club Republicans fell for it.
lemee file this thread in the "no sh*t really!?!?" folder
I did not vote for those b-stards! It's cheaper to drive across the border to buy some items. My friend picked up cartons of cigs while we were near WV to save a boatload of taxes.
There is a distinct pattern, liberals campaign as centrists, then within 6 months of taking office they raise taxes. Nobody has the right to act surprised, this happens over and over.
Hah. Did anyone expect Rendell to do better for the state than he did for the cith of Filthydelphia!
Ohh goodeee, and he's ready to open the taxpayer's wallets and buy the Penguins a new areana.
He'd be re-elected again.
That's the problem with lever-pulling Democrats. The politicians of their party can continually screw them, and at the same time convince them it's for their own good.
Gee, I haven't been to the Monroeville Mall for years.
Western Pa. has been a one party (demorats) for far too many years. Nothing has changed ,yet the elderly and the malignant unions push them back into power everytime. Yes we get what we deserve. We need a legislative change to make Pa. a right to work state. No corporation will bring a plant to this state with the militant union death grip we have in this state. Would you?
"No corporation will bring a plant to this state with the militant union death grip we have in this state. Would you?"
Without sounding like a moonbat, I wish I could go into detail as to how true this statement is. I know of two specific instances where major companies were looking to open up plants in W. PA back in 2000, but turned the area down for this specific reason....union thugs...sick...this area deserves so much better, but the idiot rate is so high around here.
Pittsburgh is going to simply be another Youngstown, Wheeling, or Wierton in another 20 years...if not now! No offense to people from those cities, but your average Pittsburgher thinks our city is on par with other large, thriving, "vibrant" cities...in reality, the population of Pittsburgh has dropped from ~750,000 in the mid 50s down to 300,000...we'll probably be UNDER 300,000 after the 2010 census...and the powers that be around here think that more "Red Up Pittsburgh", "Project Picket Fences", and higher taxes will fix the problem. Why the hell do I still live here!?!?!?!
The first thing, THE FIRST THING!!! Donkey Party members think about when taking power is raising taxes. Citizens must be made more dependent on the state. People with a little more must be punished for working smart and hard. Dem pols lie awake at night thinking about raising taxes.
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