Talking Politics with Tony Phyrillas

PA Among 'Terrible 10' Most Regressive Tax States

2009-11-20T16:58:00.001-05:00

Working families in Pennsylvania pay a far higher share of their income in state and local taxes than their wealthiest counterparts, according to a new study by the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy.

Other highlights (or low lights) from the study:

* Pennsylvania families earning less than $19,000 - the poorest fifth of Pennsylvania taxpayers - pay 11.3% of their income in Pennsylvania state and local taxes.

* Middle-income Pennsylvania taxpayers - those earning between $35,000 and $56,000 - pay 9.6% of their income in Pennsylvania state and local taxes.

* The richest Pennsylvania taxpayers - with average incomes of $1,369,600 - pay only 5% of their income in Pennsylvania state and local taxes.

* After accounting for federal deduction offsets, the discrepancy is even starker: the poorest fifth pay 11.2% of their income in state and local taxes, middle-income families pay 9.1%, and the richest Pennsylvanians pay 3.9%.

* Washington, Florida, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Illinois, Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Alabama were named as the 10 Most Regressive Tax States. Pennsylvania ranked ninth.

The review the entire report, "Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All 50 States," follow the link below:

New Report Ranks Pennsylvania Among 'Terrible 10' Most Regressive Tax States

Are you willing to risk your job?

2009-11-20T16:45:00.000-05:00

PA urges hunters to share their bounty

2009-11-20T16:37:00.001-05:00

PA Agriculture Department Urges Hunters to Share Their Harvest to Help Feed the Hungry

Worse than Swine Flu

2009-11-20T13:58:00.000-05:00

Attorney General Holder Reveals Aggressive Gun Control In Response to Ft. Hood Terror Attack

2009-11-19T15:56:00.000-05:00

How about more aggressive actions against Muslim fanatics living in the United States?

How many lives could have been saved if the soldiers at Ft. Hood were allowed to carry guns on the base?

Attorney General Holder Reveals Aggressive Gun Control In Response to Ft. Hood Terror Attack

Pennsylvania Unemployment Rate at 8.8%

2009-11-19T15:51:00.000-05:00

Pennsylvania's Employment Situation: October

New Reid Health Care Bill Funds Abortion

2009-11-19T15:47:00.000-05:00

New Reid Bill Funds Abortion: Excludes Bipartisan Stupak-Pitts Amendment

The Obama Bow

2009-11-19T15:45:00.001-05:00

A great video posted at YouTube by the College Republicans at the University of Connecticut showing that world leaders routinely greet the Japanese emperor without bowing before him, something Barack Obama indistinctly does to show U.S. weakness.

(H/T Andrew Malcolm/The Los Angeles Times)

Study: Every GM Vehicle Sold Costs Taxpayers $12,200

2009-11-19T15:44:00.000-05:00

The American taxpayer has put up $12,200 for every General Motors vehicle sold through the beginning of 2011, and $7,600 for every Chrysler vehicle sold as well, according to a new report issued by the 362,000-member National Taxpayers Union.

Study: Every GM Vehicle Sold Costs Taxpayers $12,200

Did Rep. David Kessler read the budget before voting on it?

2009-11-18T14:22:00.003-05:00

State budget cuts will force the closing of the Daniel Boone Homestead in Berks County.

The most interesting part of this story is the fact that state Rep. David Kessler, a Democrat who represents part of Exeter, where the Boone Homestead is located, admits he didn't bother to read the state budget that he voted "yes" on. He simply did what Ed Rendell and the Harrisburg party bosses told him to do.

That budget has cut off funding for one of the area's best-run historical attractions.

When asked a very direct question about why he supported a budget that cut off funding to his own district, Kessler did his best to weasel out of answering it:

He said he could not answer whether he would have voted for the budget if he knew it meant the closing of the homestead.

"I need to dig in to what the numbers are and find out what we need to keep it open at some level," Kessler said.

Keep up the good work, Mr. Kessler. And voters in the 130th House District should remember how well Mr. Kessler represents their best interests when they go to the polls in May 2010.

Read the full story at the newspaper's Web site.

'New York, New York' by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

2009-11-18T14:22:00.001-05:00

The Fringe Media vs. Sarah Palin

2009-11-17T15:30:00.000-05:00

The Fringe Media (formerly known as the Mainstream Media) has launched an all-out assault on Sarah Palin as she begins her book tour to promote "Going Rogue."

The book goes on sale Tuesday, but liberal book critics and left-wing pundits have already savaged the book, which is destined to become one of the biggest sellers of the year.

Despite the constant negative commentary about Palin in the Fringe Media, a new poll says most Americans share Palin's values.

From Rasmussen Reports:

Fifty-nine percent (59%) of Republican voters say former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin shares the values of most GOP voters throughout the nation.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 21% of Republican voters disagree and think the 2008 vice presidential candidate does not share their values. Twenty percent (20%) are undecided.

By contrast, 74% of Republicans say their party’s representatives in Congress have lost touch with GOP voters nationwide over the past several years. Only 18% of Republican voters believe their elected officials have done a good job representing the base.

The findings in these two surveys highlight the political debate within the Republican Party. Party leaders worry that Palin is pushing the GOP too far to the right to win general elections by aligning herself with Tea Party voters frustrated with both parties in Washington and the big government policies they have produced.

Still, just 18% of Republicans - and 26% of voters nationwide - see Palin as a divisive force within the GOP. A plurality believes Palin is representative of a new direction for the Republican Party. That view is held by 57% of Republicans and 41% of all voters. A plurality of Democrats aren't sure what to think of Palin's role within the opposing party.

Government Watchdogs call for Constitutional Convention in PA

2009-11-17T14:57:00.001-05:00

The latest corruption scandal to hit Harrisburg has prompted calls for a Constitutional Convention to reform state government. The problem is that a convention needs approval by the Legislature. The people of Pennsylvania can clean up the mess in 2010 when all 203 members of the state House and 25 members of the state Senate are up for reelection.

Government Watchdogs Call for Constitutional Convention in Pa.|abc27 News

No Happy Hour for States In the Red

2009-11-17T14:13:00.000-05:00

No Happy Hour for States In the Red

$6.4 Billion Stimulus Goes to 'Phantom Districts'

2009-11-17T14:10:00.001-05:00

Independent reviews of Obama's claims of job created by the stimulus bill show that the government is making up numbers. As Rep. Joe Wilson so aptly said it, "You lie!"

From Watchdog.org:

Just how big is the stimulus package? Well for one, it has doubled the size of the House of Representatives, according to recovery.gov, which says that funds were distributed to 440 congressional districts that do not exist.

According to data retrieved from recovery.gov, nearly $6.4 billion was used to “create or save” just under 30,000 jobs in these phantom congressional districts–almost $225,000 per job. The Web site operates on an $84 million budget and is tasked with monitoring the distribution of the $787 billion stimulus package passed by Congress–which, for the record, counts 435 members–in early 2009.

It's clear you can't trust anything coming from the Obama Ministry of Propaganda or the state-run media that should be reporting on the most corrupt and deceptive administration ever.

$6.4 Billion Stimulus Goes to Phantom Districts

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'Harry's Chamber and the Bill of Secrets'

2009-11-16T18:30:00.000-05:00

Newsweek Photo of Sarah Palin Shows Media Bias, Sexism

2009-11-16T17:53:00.000-05:00

Nice legs. Oh wait, that's Sarah Palin. I thought it was Sports Illustrated, but turns out it's the new issue of Newsweek. When was the last time a "news" magazine put Hillary Clinton or Nancy Pelosi in shorts on the cover?

David Brody, CBN News White House correspondent, says on his blog that this an another example of liberal media bias, not to mention sexist coverage of the former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential nominee.

Brody writes:

This cover has got to be a new low right? They don't use a photo of Palin on the campaign trail. No instead they take the sexy Runners World photo. Yes she posed for it but don't tell me they didn't purposely use that photo to make a point? I predict this cover will become a bigger story over the next 24-48 hours and let's face it. This isn't JUST about media bias. This cover should be insulting to women politicians. Where's the sexy photo of Mitt Romney? Why not a picture of Tim Pawlenty with an unbuttoned shirt relaxing on a couch in the Twin Cities?

Read his full post at the link below:

Newsweek Photo of Palin Shows Media Bias and Sexism

Special Delivery

2009-11-16T14:30:00.000-05:00

New Report: More Than 49 Million Americans at Risk of Hunger

2009-11-16T14:26:00.000-05:00

What exactly is Barack Obama doing about the problem of hunger in America? Oh, wait. He's busy fixing global warning and lobbying for the Olympics and releasing terrorists.

Where's the liberal media outcry over the lack of attention Obama is paying to the problem of hunger?

New Report: More Than 49 Million Americans at Risk of Hunger

Arlen Specter Does Pottstown

2009-11-16T02:33:00.000-05:00

Where does Arlen Specter stand on the issues? It depends on which day of the week it is. Specter is pushing John Kerry aside as king of the flip-flop.

Specter sat down a few days ago for and extensive interview with The Mercury.

On health care, Specter said "I will only vote on a health care bill that does not add to the deficit."

Does that mean he will defy Barack Obama and Harry Reid?

I also enjoyed this quote from Specter about the fact that it took him a couple of decades to figure out he wans't a true Republican: "I found I was voting more often with the Democrats than the Republicans during my tenure."

Check out what he has to say on a variety of issues ... before he changes his mind again.

Read the story at the newspaper's Web site, where you can also view videos of Specter at the offices of The Mercury.

Poll: Independents Abandon Obama

2009-11-16T00:09:00.000-05:00

Barack Obama recently left the country for an Asian trip, but the country left Obama months ago as he continues to push a left-wing agenda the majority of Americans don't want.

Most Republicans saw through Obama, but now independents have opened their eyes, with 47% of independent voters telling Rasmussen Reports they strongly disapprove of Obama's job performance.

Writing in The Wall Street Journal, pollsters Scott Rasmussen and Doug Schoen warn that Obama must drastically change course or his presidency is doomed.

From their column:

The off-year elections in New Jersey and Virginia were indeed a warning sign to Mr. Obama. While the presidents ratings aren't likely to dip much further by year's end — given the size and support of his base — by focusing exclusively on his base he could create lasting political problems that plague the remainder of his term.

Unless Mr. Obama changes his approach and starts governing in a more fiscally conservative, bipartisan manner, the independents that provided his margin of victory in 2008 and gave the Democrats control of Congress will likely swing back to the Republicans, putting Democratic control of Congress in real jeopardy.

The latest Rasmussen Reports give Obama little hope unless he starts listening to the people:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday shows that 29% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-nine percent (39%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -10.

Fifty-six percent (56%) of Democrats Strongly Approve while 66% of Republicans Strongly Disapprove. Among those not affiliated with either major party, 20% Strongly Approve and 47% Strongly Disapprove.

The Presidential Approval Index is calculated by subtracting the number who Strongly Disapprove from the number who Strongly Approve.

Overall, 50% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President's performance. Forty-nine percent (49%) now disapprove.

Pennsylvania Department of Health to Offer H1N1 Vaccine to Priority Populations

2009-11-14T23:30:00.000-05:00

Pennsylvania Department of Health to Offer H1N1 Vaccine to Priority Populations on Nov. 20, 21 and 22

Costly Recount

2009-11-14T23:27:00.002-05:00

Republican Temp Smith finished 3,534 off the pace for four open seats on the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, but he wants a recount. That will cost Pennsylvania taxpayers $1.3 million.

Let me go out on a limb and predict that Smith will still finish sixth in the race where the top four candidates get seats on the court.

Two other candidates, including one who finished higher than Smith, waived their right to a recount but state law says all candidates must agree to opt out ... or an automatic recount kicks in.

Secretary of the Commonwealth Pedro A. Cortes Orders Recount in Close Superior Court Election

A Case for Term Limits

2009-11-14T23:27:00.001-05:00

Twenty-one Students Win PennDOT's Aviation Art Contest

2009-11-13T15:05:00.000-05:00

Twenty-one Students Win PennDOT's Aviation Art Contest