State budget? More like a family feud

In a phone interview this week about his impasse with legislative Republicans over the state budget, Gov. Tom Wolf said he understood that “theatrics” come along with politics.

He likened it to his childhood -- when his mother would tell the kids to take out the trash. They’d kick up a big, showy fuss and argue.

“My mom would say, ‘Do you feel better now? Good, now take out the trash!”

Yeah, it’s time to take out the trash -- or come to agreement on a state budget, as the case may be.

Let’s hope for the former. Pennsylvania has serious fiscal issues, and its economy is limping along. A government shutdown is not going to help.

Some have suggested the GOP plan that included no gas severance tax, a little more money for public schools and a bunch of budget-balancing gimmicks was just a show, a bow to the party’s right wing. The narrative is that they’ll now recognize they have to move to the middle.

Don’t be so sure of that. Everyone in Harrisburg seems to be talking about whose mandate is bigger -- Gov. Wolf’s or the increased GOP majorities in both houses.

Clearly, Wolf’s mandate is more impressive. He won convincingly statewide, and subsequent polling has shown his budget priorities are popular. The GOP majorities are a result of shameless gerrymandering.

Mr. Wolf knows that, and he said he doesn’t intend to be bullied.

Still, both sides are going to have to give in order to reach a deal.

So what trash can each side take out?

Gov. Wolf can trash his opposition to liquor privatization. The state store system is just Soviet-style stupidity. The private sector can do a better and more convenient job. Yes, it’s probably a one-time infusion of cash. But most of the revenue from the system came from taxes anyway -- and they’re not going away.

Sign the passed privatization bill.

Same story on pension reforms for state workers -- as long as it can be done constitutionally and without lining Wall Street’s pockets with 401(k)-related costs and fees. The bottom line is that most privatesector workers don’t get pensions, and they can’t afford to pay for pensions for “public servants.” Also, law-enforcement officers must be included in these reforms, contrary to the GOP-passed bill.

Republicans can trash their foolish opposition to natural gas extraction taxes. We’ve been giving the gas industry a pretty cheap ride in Pennsylvania.

That revenue can boost school funding (though probably not as much as Gov. Wolf has proposed) and reverse the painful cuts many districts have suffered.

And somehow, we need to get property tax reform back on the table. A bill proposed by state Rep. Stan Saylor, R-Windsor Township, was passed by the House, then just disappeared in the black hole of budget negotiations.

Find some reasonable compromise between the Saylor plan and the Wolf plan.

OK, do you feel better, having staged your political shows?

Good, now take out the trash!

P.S. One bit of trash both sides can jettison is the 22.5 percent increase for the General Assembly that Gov. Wolf proposed and lawmakers passed. That’s outlandish -- even when you consider that former Gov. Corbett vetoed part of the Legislature’s appropriation last year to force lawmakers to spend down their infamous slush fund.

Pennsylvania has serious fiscal issues, and its economy is limping along. A government shutdown is not going to help. ... Both sides are going to have to give in order to reach a deal. So what trash can each side take out?