In recent weeks, we Pittsburghers received a shock when we learned that the passage of time, business success and estate taxes have caused the large, multi-generational Rooney family to put our beloved Steelers up for sale.

Yes, perhaps Dan Rooney's branch of the family will manage to buy a new controlling stake. Or maybe billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller, a former Pittsburgher and loyal Steelers fan, will be a white-knight buyer who keeps the Steelers in their Pittsburgh home.

Still, we Steelers fans are contending for the first time with the idea that maybe, just maybe, an outside investor will buy the Steelers and take them away.

Could that really happen?

The answer is "yes," for at least two reasons.

First, other cities have lost their original NFL teams in recent decades, including Los Angeles, Cleveland, Baltimore, Houston and St. Louis. Professional football is a business, and franchise owners (particularly new owners without strong regional ties) can and will move teams if they believe this will improve their commercial prospects. Second, and most important for Pittsburgh, in the long run major professional teams cannot flourish in minor league cities.

Is Pittsburgh becoming a minor league city?

Earlier this month, Pittsburghers learned from the U.S. Census Bureau that our city, now populated by only 311,218 people (down 22,609, or 6.8 percent, since 2000) now ranks as only the 59th largest municipality in the country, down from 53rd in 2000. The Pittsburgh metropolitan area, with just over 2.3 million people (the 22nd largest metro region) has lost more than 75,000 residents between 2000 and 2007.

For the past decade, politicians in Pittsburgh and state officials in Pennsylvania have claimed that their policies have begun to reverse these negative trends. Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato and Gov. Ed Rendell say things are great, yet if you drive through Pittsburgh and other Pennsylvania cities you will see both economic and social decay.

One key indicator is that violent crime across Pennsylvania has increased by 10.3 percent during the Rendell administration while violent crime has decreased in the nation as a whole by 0.4 percent.

While Mr. Rendell and other Democratic Party politicians proclaim economic success based on their policies, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has reminded Pennsylvanians of how unhappy and angry we are with the state's poor economic performance. According to Mr. Obama, we are so bitter and frustrated that we "cling to our guns and religion."

In order to demonstrate success, Mr. Rendell points to his increased financial support of social programs and the teachers union, the introduction of slots gambling and signature construction projects in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. However, a look at key performance metrics tells a very different story.

During the Rendell years, Pennsylvania has lagged behind the rest of the country. From 2003 through 2007, Pennsylvania's average annual economic growth rate of 1.6 percent was little more than half the U.S. average of 2.8 percent. The number of jobs in our state grew an average 1.2 percent per year versus 1.7 percent nationwide, and our statewide population grew a mere 0.2 percent, one fifth the national rate. According to United Van Lines, Pennsylvania is a high "outbound" state, meaning that more people move out of the state than into it. Over the past three years, more than 56 percent of Pennsylvania moves involved people leaving the state.

Mr. Rendell's policies of higher taxes, increased debt and bigger, more powerful government have led to these poor results. During his term in office, our commonwealth's operating budget has increased 6 percent to 9 percent per year even though inflation has been around 3 percent. Personal income tax rates, state debt and numerous government fees have increased while Mr. Rendell's major campaign pledge to cut property taxes remain unfulfilled.

Unfortunately, Pennsylvanians can expect all the negative trends to continue for the coming fiscal year. The state's operating budget is increasing by $1 billion, a 4 percent increase over last year, including substantial increases in welfare programs and state subsidies to public schools. This increase, although lower than past years due to a shaky national economy, is remarkably out of sync with the 2 percent growth in tax receipts the state government experienced over the past 12 months. Meanwhile, our Democratic Party leadership is doing nothing to improve Pennsylvania's oppressive business climate. At 9.99 percent, our state corporate net income tax rate remains the second highest in the country, behind only Iowa. Pennsylvania still taxes all new business investments in the commonwealth through its "capital stock and franchise tax." That's right, if you invest in Pennsylvania, you are taxed both on the amount of capital you invest and then on the profits you earn on that capital. Is it any wonder that private capital and jobs go elsewhere?

Forced unionization in both the public and private sectors remains a reality. And there is no cap on punitive damages sought in medical malpractice law suits, contributing to skyrocketing medical insurance costs. As a result of these anti-business, anti-job, and anti-growth policies, businesses and jobs continue to leave Pennsylvania.

A culture of corruption has been growing during Mr. Rendell's tenure, as well, which erupted this month when 12 Democrats were arrested in the "Bonusgate" scandal and charged with diverting taxpayer money to political purposes. To cite just one example, Michael Veon, formerly the second most powerful Democrat in the Legislature, has been charged with 59 criminal counts and faces up to 381 years in prison and more than $800,000 in fines. The governor's gambling initiative is likely to lead to waves of new corruption charges.

It is time for Pennsylvanians who care about our future to get involved. We must vote for change. I do not mean the kind of change promised by Mr. Obama -- higher taxes and larger government -- but change that will reduce the size and power of an easily corrupted government, reduce personal and business taxes, and reduce the power of unions and trial lawyers who dull our competitive edge.

Am I being politically correct? No. But these changes are necessary if the private sector is to grow and bring with it jobs, wealth and a better life for all of us.

If we fail to change Pennsylvania's high tax, big government and big labor status quo, then our commonwealth, and its cities, will continue to decline. And one day we will lose our major assets, including our major league sports teams, our symphony, our opera company and those large corporations that are still "hanging on" as they wait for things to change.

If we can get government out of the way and unleash growth, Pennsylvania can be a successful state and Pittsburgh can become what it has been and was meant to be -- a healthy, growing and lively medium-sized city with world-class universities, innovative businesses, leading cultural amenities and a stunning physical environment.

To save Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh and, yes, the Steelers, it is time to end the status quo and vote for growth.