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Fantasy Island in Harrisburg
The only thing missing in Harrisburg these days is a little man standing on the steps of the state Capitol, declaring “de plane, boss! De plane!”
These people are living on Fantasy Island.
We are now more just about 100 days into a budget impasse. Remember, the state is supposed to have a fiscal plan in place by July 1.
But in the wink-wink, nod-nod world that is our state Capitol, those kinds of deadline pressures, the kind that almost every citizen of this state faces in real life every day, mean very little.
They live in another world, a fantasy world.
In just the last two weeks, no less than three separate deals have appeared on the horizon, touted as bipartisan efforts to climb out of this budget morass.
And slowly but surely each one has collapsed.
This morning there is word that the latest effort might be in trouble as well.
And right there in the middle of it is an old friend, one of the great examples of the way business gets done in Harrisburg.
They are called WAMs, or “Walking Around Money.” A few years ago they changed the name of these legislative grants to Legislative Initiative Grants.
Sounds pretty spiffy. They very often are used for very good projects in communities, including many across Delco. But that they cannot mask the fact that they amount to little more than a slush fund controlled by the Legislature and often doled out and winding up on the turf of incumbent legislators.
Now they’re in the middle of the budget impasse. State House Democrats are balking at a plan that includes $12 million in WAMs. They’re vowing to strip them out of a $27.8 billion spending plan approved by the Republican-controlled Senate.
In the meantime, talks are continuing.
Meanwhile, back in the real world, there is this little item that did not escape notice.
Day care centers and other crucial social service agencies that have seen their lifeblood state funding dry up over the past 100 days of this standoff are getting close to the point where they will need to close their doors.
Not that such real-world issues ever intrude on Harrisburg. On Fantasy Island, everything remains hunky-dory.
These people are living on Fantasy Island.
We are now more just about 100 days into a budget impasse. Remember, the state is supposed to have a fiscal plan in place by July 1.
But in the wink-wink, nod-nod world that is our state Capitol, those kinds of deadline pressures, the kind that almost every citizen of this state faces in real life every day, mean very little.
They live in another world, a fantasy world.
In just the last two weeks, no less than three separate deals have appeared on the horizon, touted as bipartisan efforts to climb out of this budget morass.
And slowly but surely each one has collapsed.
This morning there is word that the latest effort might be in trouble as well.
And right there in the middle of it is an old friend, one of the great examples of the way business gets done in Harrisburg.
They are called WAMs, or “Walking Around Money.” A few years ago they changed the name of these legislative grants to Legislative Initiative Grants.
Sounds pretty spiffy. They very often are used for very good projects in communities, including many across Delco. But that they cannot mask the fact that they amount to little more than a slush fund controlled by the Legislature and often doled out and winding up on the turf of incumbent legislators.
Now they’re in the middle of the budget impasse. State House Democrats are balking at a plan that includes $12 million in WAMs. They’re vowing to strip them out of a $27.8 billion spending plan approved by the Republican-controlled Senate.
In the meantime, talks are continuing.
Meanwhile, back in the real world, there is this little item that did not escape notice.
Day care centers and other crucial social service agencies that have seen their lifeblood state funding dry up over the past 100 days of this standoff are getting close to the point where they will need to close their doors.
Not that such real-world issues ever intrude on Harrisburg. On Fantasy Island, everything remains hunky-dory.
posted by Heron's Nest at
7:30 AM
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