Commonwealth Foundation Opposes Wolf's Budget Proposal
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- As Governor Tom Wolf prepares for the Legislature to address his latest budget proposal, Matt Brouillette, from the Commonwealth Foundation, spoke out against the plan and the series of tax increases in it.
Brouillette, talking with Chris Stigall on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT, stated the Governor's only solution is to ask for more revenue.
"He's still demanding more and more taxes. Today, we are supposedly going to get a vote. He delivered language to the legislative leaders yesterday. We will see who is willing to walk that plank for what would be a $1.4 Billion tax increase on incomes hitting low, middle and all income earners across Pennsylvania, a 16 percent jack up in the personal income tax."
He thinks there will be a significant amount of Democrats that also oppose this latest attempt to end the budget impasse.
"I would suspect that there would probably be at least a dozen Democrats, those that recognize we don't need to be raising taxes. We can balance this budget without raising taxes. This is really just a cash grab to spend to more money, through government, on programs that simply have not worked. If Pennsylvania is the next state to spend itself to prosperity, it will also be the first."
Brouillette said the Legislature should approach their budgeting the same way Pennsylvania residents do.
"The only reason we have a, so called, deficit is because the spending desires in Harrisburg exceed the supply of the tax revenue that's currently existing. I could come up with a $10 Billion deficit because I want to spend $10 Billion more than what I have coming in tax revenue. That's what the Governor is talking about and when he shames the legislature for using one-time revenues to pay for things, that's precisely how families do it. That's how businesses do it. They say, how do I pay for the things that I have to pay for now without borrowing more money?"
