What’s the beef about Gov. Tom Corbett?
Should his disapproval scores be so high for doing what he promised when running for the office last year? Many Republicans (and a few Democrats) snickered while voting for Corbett in November, figuring the new Gov would not cut in areas where they have interests. After some posturing, these cynical voters believe, Corbett would raise taxes, saying he had no choice.
What has happened in the first 100 days of Corbett’s rule underscores the poor campaign waged by his Democrat opponent Dan Onorato.
For the right-wing zealots of the Republican Party, Corbett is viewed as the second coming. In short order he intends to destroy public sector unions, flush public education down the toilet, help private colleges become more competitive, screw poor people and hand natural gas drillers a pass to rape our landscape. What more could Corbett do for his base and his wealthy friends?
If Corbett stumbles or outright fails to deliver on his promises, the fault will belong to the leadership in both legislative houses, even though they are members of the same political party.
School vouchers are an example.
Corbett prefers to deal with vouchers after getting his budget through the House and Senate by the July 1 deadline.
That schedule conflicts with the personal ambitions of Sen. Jeff Piccola, chairman of the education committee. The Senator is considering a challenge to Bob Casey for the U.S. Senate seat up in 2012.
Corbett’s priority is the 2011-12 budget. Even after that he would prefer a smaller voucher program at the outset, mindful of the cost. Corbett proposes a pittance that would barely extend options to poor children in the worst school districts.
Piccola wants to be known as the state lawmaker who delivered on vouchers. He also needs enough funding to insure that Republican families get taxpayers to pay for sending their kids to private academies as soon as possible.
Corbett will have a difficult time getting his budget through without the grandstanding on vouchers. Unless he also gets legislation that provides local school boards with tools to deal with state funding cuts, Corbett’s delivery on campaign promises will amount to no more than a huge shift to local taxpayers.
Existing state law prohibits furloughing teachers for lack of funds. The number of teachers in a district can only be reduced because of a decline in enrollment. That needs changed, presumably by July 1.
Collective bargaining has been a right extended to PA public employee unions since 1971. As the law stands, school districts must bargain to get employees to pay higher contributions for health care. Existing union contracts require layoffs to be based on seniority and include rules that define hours of work and duties.
Legislation limiting the power of teacher unions must move alongside the budget to prevent big increases in property taxes. Corbett will learn -- if he does not already know -- the Pennsylvania legislature is disingenuous and self-serving, regardless of party affiliation.
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