Pennsylvanians deserve long-term budget solutions

To the Editor:

Year after year, Pennsylvania faces down a budget crisis, and year after year, we use temporary solutions to push our problems aside.

Our residents deserve real, long-term solutions — a budget that invests in our communities, a budget that holds large corporations accountable and a budget that is sustainable for our future.

This year, we have an opportunity to correct the mistakes of the past. We should adopt revenue raising proposals: a severance tax on natural gas drilling, corporate tax reform and a fair share tax. Withwealth growing at the fastest rate in that top 1 percent of earners, if we adopted a fair-share tax system, we could raise sustainable income from taxes by ensuring that our 1 percent are contributing. Together these proposals would raise $2.5 billion next year while offering 60 percent of Pennsylvanians a small tax cut.

With a balanced budget, we can also make sure that our social services are funded and given the opportunity to grow. We can help Philadelphia families afford childcare, we can protect our investment in education and we can put forward smart initiatives to fighting the growing opioid crisis.

It’s time for Pennsylvania legislators to stop putting Band-Aids on bullet holes. Legislators and citizens — we need you to stand up for a budget that improves our communities.