Issues
State budget’s proposed spending, tax increases will harm job creation, economic recovery
As Pennsylvania readies for another difficult state budget debate, private-sector job creation hangs in the balance.
Economic recovery is slowly occurring, but there is still a long way to go to replace the jobs lost to the recession and ensure new job opportunities. Success or failure will be determined by the outcome of the upcoming state budget debate.
Pennsylvanians recognize the hard reality of our state’s dire financial situation. Among the fiscal threats, the budget deficit stands at more than $700 million and could reach $1 billion by the end of the fiscal year. The UC Trust Fund is broke and operating on $2 billion borrowed from the federal government; federal stimulus dollars will soon run out; and a staggering $4 billion public pension bill looms… and even more.
Yet, instead of restraining galloping government spending, the Rendell administration proposes a $1.2 billion increase over the current fiscal year, and he proposes numerous tax increases on job creators and consumers in the process, including expanding the sales tax to more than 70 items. Such a bloated budget would inevitably be filled with programs that make government larger and more intrusive. This might be exactly what anti-business groups that believe government is the answer to all of our problems want. But growth in government occurs through taxes on the backs of families, individuals and business, taking money from citizens, and threatening private-sector jobs and the state’s economy.
Adding to the tax burden of job creators – still struggling in a vulnerable economy – will hamstring business growth and the resulting job creation. And taxes on business will likely be passed on to others in the form of lower wages for workers, lower dividends and capital gains for share holders, or higher prices for consumers.
Pennsylvania needs fiscal discipline
It's time to get serious about bringing meaningful discipline to the spending side of the budget, so the state can get its fiscal house in order without impacting the pocketbooks of hardworking taxpayers, and without harming our only chance for economic security: a healthy, vibrant private sector and free market opportunities that drive success.
The upcoming budget debate will require difficult decisions for sure. But the more government spending grows, the more growth in the private sector is diminished. And the more that elected officials implement policies counter to what’s needed to foster a healthy free enterprise system, the more fleeting economic recovery will be for everyone!
Over the next several weeks, be sure to contact your elected officials and let them know now is not the time for higher taxes and bigger government. It’s time to focus on private sector job creation!
