The Corbett budget plan: his legacy on the line
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On Tuesday Gov. Tom Corbett will present his budget proposals to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Since last year's budget was presented only days after he took office, this year's budget proposals will truly begin to define his vision for Pennsylvania and put his unique stamp on how the commonwealth addresses its critical and daunting issues.
With a year of experience as governor and his team fully in place, this is the moment when Tom Corbett's legacy starts taking shape. Interestingly, the timing of the governor's address coincides with last week's national political discussion about whether candidates for president are concerned about the plight of the very poor. This is an opportune moment for Gov. Corbett to show that he is both a wise and compassionate leader, consistent with what we hear from those know him well, who describe Tom Corbett as kind, caring and deliberate.
Among many pressing issues (public transportation, roads and bridges, taxes, Marcellus Shale drilling) and responsibilities, the governor is also the leader of essential human services. For more than five decades, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania has organized and financed human services through a state-funded, county-operated arrangement. These human services have benefited from bipartisan support as they help some of the state's most vulnerable citizens: people with disabilities; abused and neglected children; disadvantaged children; frail seniors; people struggling without homes, utilities or food; workers needing retraining; and public health protection.
In these tough economic times when these human services are needed more than ever, available state revenue is unfortunately reduced. For those who work tirelessly on behalf of disadvantaged citizens, there is serious anxiety that Tuesday's budget proposal will bring more slashing of our safety net, with all the dire consequences to people truly in need and for the hard-working employees who struggle with modest wages.
First Published February 6, 2012 12:00 am
