Rendell's propaganda machine
HARRISBURG
Through May and early June, the Rendell administration issued 14 news releases warning of the terrible consequences of enacting the Senate Republicans' no-tax-hike budget, which cuts spending by $1 billion.
Spending $27.3 billion -- instead of Rendell's proposed $29 billion -- would cost jobs and endanger the health and welfare of Pennsylvanians, the governor claims.
The state budget was $20.4 billion when Republican Gov. Mark Schweiker left office in January 2003. Spending has increased at twice the rate of inflation since Rendell took office, though it must be noted he had a Republican-controlled Legislature until 2007.
Senate Bill 850, the GOP plan, cut Rendell's proposed budget by $1.7 billion and reduced the previous year's spending by $1 billion. The Democrat-controlled House Appropriations Committee killed the measure this month. It remains the position of one chamber of the General Assembly, however.
The propaganda barrage from Rendell against the bill began on May 5, the day before it was approved by the Senate. The Department of Community and Economic Development issued a news release saying it would kill prospects for new jobs. Never mind the national recession. Then the floodgates opened from agencies under the governor's control:
• The bill "threatens juvenile delinquency and crime prevention efforts," the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency said.
• It would "cripple production in agriculture," Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff said.
• Pennsylvania communities "face the prospect of dirtier water, weakened flood protection, and swarms of biting inspects that could potentially carry the deadly West Nile virus," the Department of Environmental Protection said.
• The bill "would wreak havoc on (the) veterans' home system," displace 300 veterans and "possibly" force closure of a veteran's home, the Pennsylvania National Guard warned. (Sen. Lisa Baker, a Republican, responded it was "completely out of line with the fiscal facts" and "needlessly alarmed veterans and their families.")
• SB 850 would "cripple the tourism industry," DCED said in a curtain call.
• It would lead to the closure of at least 35 state parks, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources said. ("Scare tactics," the GOP said.)
• The most sweeping indictment came from the Department of Health, warning the bill "threatens the health of millions of Pennsylvanians" by restricting or eliminating vital health care.
• And it would be "devastating" for school districts, students and taxpayers, Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak warned.
Based on the rhetoric, one would think the state is on the verge of nuclear winter.
How many hundreds of employee hours and state tax dollars went into preparing these news releases, which are all aimed at spending even more of your tax dollars?
What's at stake between $27 billion and $29 billion is quite simply whether you pay higher state taxes. And talk is aplenty of a state income tax increase to close a projected $3.2 billion deficit.
Rendell's propaganda campaign lays the groundwork for an income tax boost by pointing out all of the "devastating" consequences of spending less.
