Radio Smart Talk for Tuesday, September 13:
Gov. Tom Corbett signed a 27.15 billion dollar state budget into law last June. Hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars go out or come in to the Commonwealth everyday. With such large amounts of taxpayer money at stake, it's easy to see why the responsibilities of the state's fiscal watchdog -- the Auditor General -- are so critical.
Against the backdrop of a billion dollars in budget cuts approved by the governor and that Pennsylvania's and nation's economies have been sputtering along for almost three years now, ensuring that every dollar is spent properly and wisely also becomes much more important.
Tuesday's Radio Smart Talk will feature Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner discussing findings in several recent audits and his recommendations.
LISTEN TO PROGRAM:
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1) Cut the size of the legislature, and their staff, by 10% per year to about 50% of its current size;
2) Spend MORE on education, and particularly EARLY childhood education AND AT-RISK DROP OUT PREVENTION, and LESS on those in prison (change the rules that incarcerates lesser offenses -- have them "shackled" under house arrest, with mandatory public works community improvements and/or classes on self-esteem/self-reliance/self-determination/self-improvement/economic skills improvement for between 10-15 hours per week -- EXPECT them to support themselves legally, and give them the tools to do so.)
3) EITHER raise taxes to PAY FOR infrastructure improvements, or SELL/LEASE them to private enterprises for them to make the improvements and charge a "users fee" based on a fair ROI, and market-driven demand...
If early childhood education, drug education and treatment, mentoring, and tutoring are provided early in life it reduces the next generation's incarceration and drop-out rates and increases a childs future tax contribution potential in adulthood over their lifetime and the multiplier effect of that money.
We are slitting our own preverbial throat and extending the need for DPW, UEC, Corrections, and the legal system when these children could be productive citizens in the future.
Their has to be a better way!
I didn't notice much discussion of the faulty inventory system either, subject of another recent audit, which resulted in huge oversupplies around the state and trailers full wine that weren't climate controlled, so the plcb's already poor selection included a lot of heated and ruined wine.
I know Mr. Wagner is a Democrat and probably can't bring himself to say what most Pennsylvanians want, which is privatization of the wine and liquor business, which would allow for real selection and convenience. His only solution is longer hours at our limited number of stores(less than Deleware or the city of Chicago!) and doing nothing about our limited product selection. That's why so many PA residents near the borders always travel to Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey, resulting in untold lost revenue("profits"). There's something else Mr. Wagner failed to mention.
No one says they shouldn't earn a fair wage for their work. However, how fair is it if they are doing a poor job and our kids suffer from it all the while we can't afford to pay our tax bill?
I did notice the $496 million profit for the LCB was actually profit and taxes but did not hear a breakdown. If privatized, one has to assume the taxes would not go away. What is the actual operating profit? Have all benefits - medical and retirement for State employees been taken into account?
Good point, I think the taxes, the flood and the sales tax, make up at least 3/4 of the contribution. The rest of the "profits" are just what the legislature says the plcb has to give them, however they come up with it.
I've read that the plcb has borrowed from the gf at the beginning of the year, so I'm not really sure how much extra they're giving versus simply collecting taxes like we do from other private businesses.
So why doesn't the state sell all of the guns or own the drug stores for that matter? While we're at it, why not just have the state sell everything since this would generate the most income for the state.
The income argument is absurd. The fact that the state is engaged in commerce in an industry that it regulates is ridiculous.
If the abuse and misuse of public school funds is truly being evaluated perhaps we should look to the award winning transformation Maryland has made in the last ten years. The state boasts one of the highest graduation rates and lowest cost per student in the US. If our tried and true system isn't working, doesn't it make sense to look to those that have a model which has proved successful?
One school district per county with taxes collected and distributed by the state would considerably reduce duplication of administration, taxing authorities, and various other areas of waste.
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