Sen. John Wozniak’s letter about the budget impasse is a well-written piece of political spin that attempts to convince us that “the gridlock of Pennsylvania’s budget process is a sign that the democracy is healthy”. It touts the fact that they have not passed a budget by the deadline since Gov. Rendell took office in 2003, offering that up as proof that our legislature is not dysfunctional. His line of reasoning is debatable and offers little solace to our state workers, who are used as political pawns year after year.
In his attempt to rationalize our elected officials’ inability to produce a budget in a timely manner, it seems to me that Sen. Wozniak was really trying to fend off the notion that they should be held accountable for their lack of punctuality. Could this be in response to Rep. Ron Marsico’s (R-105th) plans to introduce legislation that would cause members of the House and Senate, along with the governor and his executive-level officials, to give up pay for each day there is no budget starting on July 1? Rep. Marsico doesn’t believe it is fair that just state employees face the financial pain of a budget impasse. He wants the people responsible for causing it to also feel the impact and wants them to forfeit their pay and perks once the June 30 deadline has passed. I agree with him 100%.
Considering the fact that PA has the most bloated state legislature for salaries, perks, and pensions – as based on the per population ratio – it is not unreasonable for the taxpayers to expect results, and for financial penalties to be imposed when essential deadlines are not met. I do believe that if Rep. Marsico’s “performance clause” was in effect, our legislators would have stayed in Harrisburg over the weekend, instead of going home, and budget talks would be ongoing—which they are not!
In an attempt to bolster his position that withholding the pay of lawmakers and the Governor is a “simplistic solution”, Sen. Wozniak used an analogy about labor contracts, implying that new contracts aren’t ratified before the old ones expire (they often are), and questions whether management would go unpaid until a union contract is ratified. In my opinion, that scenario isn’t applicable, and it smacks of the elitist attitude that prevails in Harrisburg.
Sen. Wozniak, you and your fellow politicians are not business managers involved in labor negotiations. You are, in fact, generously compensated employees of the citizenry, and you have an obligation to have a budget in place before July 1st of each year! I suggest that you start working on it more diligently when it is first proposed by the Governor (early February), then do what it takes to get the job done – burn the midnight oil, and skip or shorten a few of your vacations , if necessary.
After all, that’s what many of your constituents (the “regular folks”) have to do in order to meet their work-related deadlines.
Brenda Kennedy
Clearfield