OPINION Minimum effort on wage boost in Harrisburg

Several neighboring states have moved to increase their minimum wage. Pennsylvania is bringing up the rear.

We hate to say we told you so, but we told you so.

On Sunday we cautioned you not to get too excited about all the talk swirling around a possible hike in Pennsylvania’s minimum wage.

Looks like we were on the money.

Literally.

And that is unfortunate. It appears as if all that bluster about boosting the state’s embarrassing $7.25 minimum wage was just a bunch of hot air.

With the July 1 deadline looming next week, budget talks got serious in Harrisburg yesterday, and that means what it usually means.

Republicans start pulling the purse strings tighter, choking off any new spending plans.

The state House Tuesday passed a $34 billion spending plan that does not include any increase in Pennsylvania’s paltry $7.25 minimum wage. The compromise deal now will be taken up by the Senate.

And despite some early indications that they would consider a boost in the minimum wage, it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen in this budget.

A lot of Republicans, including some here in the southeastern corner of the state, had voiced support for the minimum wage boost, even if not as big a one as Gov. Tom Wolf proposed.

The governor was backing an increase to $12 an hour now, then incremental increases each year until it reached $15 an hour.

Several neighboring states have moved recently to increase their minimum wage. Pennsylvania is bringing up the rear, clinging to the federal standard.

Democrats yesterday decried the lack of action on an increase, noting that these are not entry workers or teens in summer jobs, but instead often times adults trying to support families.

During the first hour of debate on the budget plan, Democrats repeatedly criticized Republican resistance on the minimum wage issue.

This apparently did not sit well with Republican House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, who offered a warning to his colleagues across the aisle.

“I’m going to strike any other reference to minimum wage,” Turzai said at one point.

Eventually, after four hours of debate, the budget plan passed, 140-62. Only a handful of Republicans joined Democrats in opposing the measure, which now goes to the Senate.

The lack of action on the minimum wage was not the only point of contention with Democrats. They also derided the measure for failing to restore funding for a general assistance program that helps the state’s neediest citizens, many of them disabled. The $200 stipend was for some basic needs, such as transportation and personal hygiene products. It was axed by Republicans in 2012, but reinstated by the state Supreme Court. Republicans again have stripped funding for the program.

All of this comes as the state unexpectedly finds itself with extra cash. State tax returns have spiked, running more than $800 million ahead of projections.

So what are we getting for our $34 billion?

There is an additional $2 billion in the plan, about 6 percent more than was allocated last year. Most of the additional funding will wind up in boosts for public education, which is a good thing.

There also are increases to meet rising costs of the state’s prison system, pension obligations and health care for the poor.

As we stated Sunday, nobody is in the mood for a protracted budget standoff or government shutdown.

After having their say, Democrat leaders voted in favor of the bill – even without the minimum wage hike.

There is no tax hike – that’s because Wolf this year is trying a new tactic for his favorite target, a severance tax on the state’s Marcellus Shale industry.

He’s calling for that to be done outside the formal budget process, with the revenue used for one of his other key issues, a program called RestorePA targeting the state’s crumbling infrastructure.

It doesn’t look especially promising for that, either.

The Legislature is on cruise control. They know they are up against a deadline this weekend to have the new spending plan in place, and they are in no mood to delay their summer vacation.

One thing’s for sure. None of them are heading off to the beach on a $7.25 an hour salary.