The Governor wants to raise an assortment of taxes, including a 16.5% hike in the personal income tax, while Republicans vow to cut deeper and deeper without raising any new revenue. You can see the philosophical and practical chasm these solutions create.

WITF stepped into the fray with an offer last week to host a live television program in which Gov. Rendell and Lt. Gov. and Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, could lay out the rationale behind their rival plans for the public to digest. Sen. Scarnati said yes. The Governor said no. (As an aside, their aides have no problem firing away at each other via social networking sites like Twitter.)

In an interview last night with WITF producer Mark Wallace, Rendell explained his reluctance to debate, "We're not going to have a debate. And the reason we're not going to have a debate ... right now, we need to be working together, we need to be cooperating, and a debate is ... for elections. Debates are not for this type of stuff because we're down to the nitty-gritty, and we need to be cooperating. What I will do, and I think Chuck (Ardo - Rendell's press secretary) communicated this to somebody, if you put Joe on for a half hour, ask him five or six questions, and you can have follow ups, then put me on for a half hour, ask me the same five or six, and I'm happy to do that. But I don't want to be in a room where somebody integral to reaching a deal and I are going to be at each others' throats. I think ... it's a really irresponsible suggestion by 'ITF to be honest."

Several political columnists weighed in, some arguing that a public TV debate is exactly the kind of format required given this year's budget scenario. We'd love to hear what you think at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

In addition to Rendell's call for a PIT boost, he held an "emergency" Cabinet meeting yesterday and told his team to come up with $500 million more in cuts, bringing his latest budget spending plan to $28.9 billion. Republicans are quick to point out that this level of spending is nearly 4 percent above this year's $27.8 billion. "The cuts have been completely overbalanced by additional spending," according to Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware County.

Rendell's proposed cuts could mean additional state worker job losses. His initial budget proposal in February anticipated 2,600 job reductions through attrition and some layoffs. If a budget isn't passed by June 30, Rendell wants state workers to stay on the job and their first pay-less payday would hit on July 17.

You can join us on Smart Talk Friday night at 8:30 for a compelling and insightful conversation on the budget wrangling with some of the top government and political reporters in Pennsylvania. Pete DeCoursey, State Capitol bureau chief for the online subscription news service Capitolwire, Brad Bumsted, State Capitol reporter for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Laura Vecsey, the new political columnist for the Harrisburg Patriot-News, will dissect the budget shenanigans.