Hammerhead81
"I've been sitting here sending out emails. I just email the PADems to find out what the process was in removing a governor. It's time we all take our own political action against these politicians that do nothing for the majority and everything for the very few. These guys think their is no repurcussion for their actions once voted in. Well now's the time for that to change. We need to remove him."
I think the state is ripe with the fallout from Wisconsin. What happens there may or maybe going on here in Harrisburg behind closed doors.
From a PennFuture email:----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Driller-friendly, taxpayer-hostile budget
This week Governor Tom Corbett unveiled a $27.3 billion budget proposal that makes drastic cuts to basic education, higher education and other programs. In his budget address, the governor said a "day of reckoning" had arrived and said everyone needs to share in the sacrifice.
But the sacrifice certainly isn't shared. Pennsylvania's multi-billion dollar gas drilling industry was not asked to sacrifice one bit. The Corbett's budget failed to include a drilling tax on the largest and most profitable corporations on the planet. The governor issued a call instead to "let's make Pennsylvania the Texas of the natural gas boom." Texas taxes natural gas extraction and levies a property tax on the gas. Pennsylvania is the only major gas producing state without a drilling tax.
Did we vote for this?
The governor's trickle down tax plan, with favorable treatment of the drillers and his call on teachers and state workers to swallow wage and benefit rollbacks and the slashing of support for basic education and colleges, sparked public outrage. It was captured perfectly in a Philadelphia Daily News cover and biting column.
"Friction-free government" and a new permit czar
Governor Corbett's budget document also announced a new "regulatory reform" policy to create "friction-free government" and a new permit czar. Corbett gives the Secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), coal company CEO C. Alan Walker, broad authority to intervene in government decisions. Here's the nugget, buried deep in the 1184 page document - "The DCED secretary is empowered to expedite any permit or action pending in any agency where the creation of jobs may be impacted."
This breath-taking centralization of power in the hands of one person caught the attention of MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, who featured Corbett's action and a profile of Walker on her Thursday night show.
A reprieve for the forest--at least for now
Governor Corbett's budget does not propose additional leasing of our state forests for gas drilling. The governor apparently took the advice of the experts at the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources who concluded that leasing more land could irreparably damage the forest.
But we're not out of the woods yet
During the course of budget negotiations, legislators may end up considering leasing more forestland for drilling as they face a harsh public backlash to cuts. To try to ensure that doesn't happen 76 members of the House, led by Representative Greg Vitali (D-Delaware), have introduced House Bill 150, which would create at least a three-year freeze on further leasing of state land for gas and oil drilling. Many of these legislators, including House Democratic Whip Mike Hanna (D-Clinton and Centre) and House Democratic Caucus Chair Dan Frankel (D-Allegheny), were joined by Pennsylvania conservation and environmental organizations including PennFuture at a press conference to urge support for the bill.
Is your representative on the list?
If you have not yet asked your legislator to co-sponsor House Bill 33, now would be a good time to do so. You can find out if your legislator is a co-sponsor and send him or her a message – Why aren't you on the list? – right from PennFuture's action center. Take a minute and do it today."
