The red ink continues to flow in Pennsylvania as Gov. Ed Rendell is busy campaigning for Barack Obama or working his part-time job as an Eagles' TV analyst.

The Legislature, which rubber-stamped Rendell's deficit budget back in July, is busy campaigning for re-election.

What does it all mean for Pennsylvania residents? A projected General Fund deficit approaching $3 billion next year. That will necessitate the biggest tax increase in Pennsylvania history -- after most of the current lawmakers are safety re-elected.

You can send a message to Rendell by voting out most of the incumbents who supported his deficit budget.

The October tax revenues for the state came in $283.4 million below projections. That's the fourth month in a row that the state took in less than it spent. The deficit keeps growing as we go deeper into the 2008-09 fiscal year.

Follow the link below for more on the state's tax revenue shortfall.

Pennsylvania Revenue Department Releases October Collections

The discovery of a 2001 radio interview in which Barack Obama says he would use the Supreme Court to push through his socialist agenda should make every American pause.

With one week to go before the election, do Americans want to move this country toward European-style socialism, where the government takes half your income and runs the education and health care systems?

Read more about Obama's socialist agenda in an op-ed column published in The Wall Street Journal. Follow the link below:

RNC: Obama's 'Redistribution' Constitution

The chickens have come home to roost after six five years of runaway spending by Gov. Ed Rendell.

Pennsylvania is facing a budget deficit of up to $2.5 billion or more.

State spending has increased $8 billion since Rendell came to Harrisburg in 2003 and that's not counting the $3 billion in debt Rendell pushed through the doormat state Legislature.

Rendell and legislative leaders say they can't find any fat to trim from $28.3 billion General Fund budget for the 2008-09 fiscal year.

Columnist Eric Heyl, writing in The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, doesn't have a problem finding places to cut.

From Heyl's column:

Pennsylvania taxpayers are spending $192 million this year to operate the state House and $102 million on the Senate. An additional $38.4 million is being spent on legislative committees, commissions, bureaus and agencies.

Add the numbers: $332.4 million.

That staggering sum is $43 million more than what was budgeted this year for all state health care programs. Yet our needlessly large, appallingly expensive and abhorrently clueless body of elected officials is stumped over what it could cut.

Read "Lean budget requires butcher" at the newspaper's Web site.

State Rep. Sam Rohrer (R-Berks), State Sen. John Eichelberger (R-Blair) and House Republican Policy Committee Chairman Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) today called on Gov. Ed Rendell and the Legislature to re-open "and make substantial spending reductions" to balance the state's $28.3 billion 2008-09 General Fund budget.

The lawmakers were joined by Commonwealth Foundation President Matthew Brouillette and several other economic experts at a Harrisburg press conference.

Below a press release issued this afternoon by Rohrer:

"On July 4, 2008, I joined in the debate on the House floor against final passage of the 2008-09 state budget based on the following projections that were ultimately dismissed by Majority Leader DeWeese, House Majority Appropriations Chairman Dwight Evans and several others as premature and pessimistic:

1. The $28.3 billion spending plan that was approved by the General Assembly on Independence Day is effectively unconstitutional because it is demonstrably out of balance ignoring clear financial data and accurate economic forecasts.

2. This year's budget is problematic because it will predictably force the legislature to completely defund the Commonwealth's already largely depleted $740 million Rainy Day Fund next year with no justifiable emergency or fiscally responsible reason for doing so.

3. This year's budget is fiscally out of balance because without dispute the roughly 4 percent spending increase is more than twice the rate of actual revenue growth (1.7 percent) over the previous 12 months.

4. Spending in this year's budget is built on the extremely flawed assumption of nearly 4 percent economic growth over the next twelve months, when at best economic experts are predicting no more than 2 percent.

5. While there may be no broad-based new tax increases or fees in this year's budget, next year Pennsylvania taxpayers, at minimum, could be asked to foot the bill for a $600 to $900 million budgetary shortfall.

6. Even statements from Senate Democrat Appropriations staff and the Senate Republican Appropriations Committee Chairman place the deficit at between $800 million and $2 billion!

"Nearly 80 days later, a dramatic $117.5 million August 2008 revenue shortfall and an unprecedented, yet absolutely insufficient executive order from the governor for state agencies to reduce spending by just $200 million, absolutely nothing has changed about the projections I presented except they are now our state's rapidly approaching economic reality.

"With all due to respect to yesterday's pledge on the House floor from both the Democrat and Republican Appropriations chairmen to 'meet and monitor revenue levels on a monthly basis,' the time for talking is past. The time for action and specific spending reductions is now.

"Immediately re-opening the budget and realistically re-organizing our fiscal priorities is critical to allow both the legislature and the governor the ability to direct where these specific cuts need to occur. It will also allow state government agencies ample time to adjust to the inevitable line item and government service reductions that must occur now rather than later to avoid saddling our children and grandchildren with insurmountable debt for decades to come.

"Again, time and immediate action are of the essence. The legislature and executive branch responsible for crafting and adopting this Rainy Day fund-raiding, tax increase-guaranteed spending plan must take the responsibility for balancing the unbalanced budget they enacted on July 4 today, rather than sitting idly by and allowing the next legislature to take the fall when next summer's billion dollar tax increase becomes unavoidable."

Less than three months after signing a record $28.3 billion General Fund budget that critics said would sink the state into red ink, Gov. Ed Rendell has ordered a series of measures to prevent a fiscal collapse.

Rendell ordered most state agencies to reduce spending by 4.25 percent and eliminate all out-of-state travel. He also imposed a hiring freeze, leaving about 5,000 vacant state jobs unfilled. State agencies that provide public safety, health and education services will have to make smaller cuts, Rendell said.

The cost-cutting measures are expected to save the state about $200 million by the end of the current fiscal year, Rendell said.

The fiscal year runs from July 1, 2008, to June 30, 2009. The state started noticing problems almost as soon as the fiscal year began. August tax collection revenues fell short of projections by $117 million. (The state actually missed its revenue projections in three of the last six months.) With the national economy in a downturn, the state could running in the red for months.

Critics warned that the state would run a deficit of up to $1 billion for the 2008-09 fiscal year, but the Legislature overwhelmingly approved Rendell's budget and the governor signed the massive spending plan in July. (Only 33 lawmakers -- 32 Republicans and 1 Democrat -- in the 253-member General Assembly voted against Rendell's bloated budget.)

After the budget was passed, one leading newspaper, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, editorialized that every lawmaker who supported the spending plan should be thrown out of office in November.

State Rep. Sam Rohrer wrote an op-ed column in July criticizing the Rendell budget: 'Rendell-a-nomics' will lead to massive tax hike next year

Also check out this July 3 post: Surprise: Pa. facing $1B budget deficit and this post from July 5: Questions remain about PA budget

Don't be surprised if Rendell comes back asking for a tax hike after the November election.

I first wrote about the $117 million budget deficit Pennsylvania showed at the end of August last Friday, but it's worth reinforcing the red ink hemorrhaging from the 2008-09 Rendell budget. (See PA headed for a deficit?)

The Harrisburg Patriot-News has a story today that says Pennsylvania has failed to meet its monthly tax revenue projections three times since May.

If the trend continues (and there's no indication it won't), Pennsylvania faces three options: Reduce services, raid the state's Rainy Day Fund or raise taxes.

The problem? With the slowdown in the economy, Pennsylvania residents are spending less, which means the government is collecting less in tax revenues, says reporter Sharon Smith.

Since the start of the new fiscal year July 1, Pennsylvania consumers continued to drive less, buy fewer homes, drink and smoke less, work less and buy less in general, the August revenue collections showed, according to Smith.

From Smith's article:

"Is there something to worry about?" asked Joel Naroff, an economist with Commerce Bank. "Yes."

However, the Rendell administration has decided to adopt a "What me, worry?" attitude.

From Smith's article:

"The predictions are for an upswing in the economy in the third quarter, which begins in January," said Chuck Ardo, spokesman for Rendell, a Democrat. "We'll just have to wait and see. It's just too soon to cry wolf."

At what point will Rendell admit that his 2008-09 budget was built on a house of cards? When the budget deficit nears $1 billion?

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

"It's too early to jump to conclusions," says the Rendell administration, but for the second straight month, Pennsylvania has taken in less tax revenue than it anticipated.

The state collected $1.7 billion in General Fund revenues in August, which is 6.6 percent less than it anticipated. That leaves a $117.5 million budget shortfall for the state.

July revenues were also below what the state anticipated. The fiscal year runs from July 1, 2008, to June 30, 2009.

Just do the math. If the state continues to spend $100 million more each month than it takes in, where does that leave us in a year?

Don't say a lot of people didn't see this coming.

Many of the Republican lawmakers who voted against Gov. Rendell's $28.3 billion budget stated publicly that the state was going into deficit spending and could end up more than $1 billion in the red by the end of the current fiscal year.

By the way, only 1 Democratic legislator voted against the budget, so that's why I highlighted the fact that it was Republican lawmakers who sounded the alarm bells in June and July.

Perhaps you would like to ask your incumbent state lawmaker who voted for Rendell's deficit budget how the state will dig itself out of a $1 billion hole? If they can't come up with a good answer, maybe you should elect a new state lawmaker on Nov. 4.

Follow the link below for more information from the Revenue Department.

Pennsylvania Revenue Department Releases August Collections

I hope Gov. Ed Rendell and Sen. Bob Casey Jr. are having a good time in the Mile High City.

It sounded like they were enjoying themselves Tuesday when both spoke at the Democratic National Convention. Rendell and Casey, who collectively have held public office for more than 50 years, took a lot of shots at President Bush and Republicans.

Earlier in the day, the U.S. Census Bureau released its annual survey measuring poverty and health insurance coverage.

The poverty level remained unchanged in 2007 and the number of uninsured Americans declined by 1.3 million in 2007. There was no mention of the report at the convention because Democrats keep harping about poverty and health coverage. They wouldn't want a dose of reality messing up their tired rhetoric.

But I do have a couple of questions for Gov. Rendell and Sen. Casey.

The Census Bureau reported that the 11.6 percent of Pennsylvania residents are living below the poverty level. How can that be when we've had such stellar leadership under Rendell and Casey?

Rendell has increased state spending by $8 billion since he took office in 2003. Where did that money go? Why wasn't it used to help bring more Pennsylvanians out of poverty?

The Census Bureau listed the median income in Pennsylvania at $48,576. The national average is $50,740. Pennsylvania ranks No. 26 in the nation. Why do Pennsylvania families earn less than the national median? If Rendell and Casey are champions of the working people (as they frequently remind us), why are so many Pennsylvanians struggling?

Rendell says there are 800,000 Pennsylvanians without health care coverage. The number of uninsured Pennsylvanians has grown each year Rendell has been in office. Yet he has failed to reduce that number since taking office in 2003. If it's such a crisis, why hasn't Rendell given the matter a greater priority?

Just wondering.

There are 192 countries in the world, according to the United Nations roster.

A Pennsylvania newspaper says the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (where King Ed Rendell I rules) would rank No. 56 in spending if Pennsylvania was an independent nation. I've been telling you for years that taxes are too high.

Imagine that. Pennsylvania spends more each year than 136 nations in the world, many of whom have much larger populations.

From the editorial in the Observer-Reporter in Washington, Pa.:

Let's put this in perspective. If Pennsylvania were not one of the 50 United States but rather an independent country, its budget would rank 56th in the world, just behind Pakistan. Pennsylvania has around 12 million residents, and Pakistan has a population of 165 million.

Pennsylvania will spend $2,350 per citizen in this fiscal year; Pakistan about $180. If our state were as parsimonious as Pakistan, our budget would be a mere $2.1 billion, or about the same as the Republic of Congo.

Of course, our services might rival those of the Congo then, but we'd be paying a lot less in taxes.

Read the full editorial at the Observer-Reporter Web site.

Something else to consider. I believe the newspaper used the $28.3 billion General Fund budget to base its conclusions on spending. The General Fund is just one part of the total spending by the state each year.

The final number when you include the Motor License Fund, the Lottery Fund and the Public Transportation Trust Fund exceeds $60 billion!!! That 56th place ranking may be a bit conservative.

(HT to GrassrootsPA.com)

State Rep. Sam Rohrer (R-Berks) issued the following statement regarding his NO vote on the $28.3 billion, 2008-09 state budget:

Totaling $1.08 billion in General Fund increases, this year's budget represents a 3.98 percent spending increase over last year's budget. Combined with the $2.9 billion in additional borrowing, the total amount of increased spending contained in or connected to this year's budget inflates to roughly $4 billion.

"Unfortunately for Pennsylvania taxpayers, the driving forces behind 'Rendell-a-nomics' and in turn the driving forces behind our state economy still revolve around the 'Big Three' - increasing taxation, increasing spending, and increasing debt," said Rohrer. "The $28.3 billion spending plan that was approved by the General Assembly on Independence Day is effectively unconstitutional because it is demonstrably out of balance ignoring clear financial data and accurate economic forecasts.

"This year's budget is problematic because it will predictably force the legislature to completely defund the Commonwealth's already largely depleted $740 million Rainy Day fund next year with no justifiable emergency or fiscally responsible reason for doing so. This year's budget is fiscally out of balance because without dispute this 3.98 percent spending increase is more than twice the rate of revenue growth (1.7 percent) over the last 12 months.

"In other words, spending in this year's budget is built on the extremely flawed assumption of nearly 4 percent economic growth over the next twelve months, when at best economic experts are predicting no more than 2 percent. While there may be no broad-based new tax increases or fees in this year's budget, next year Pennsylvania taxpayers, at minimum, could be asked to foot the bill for a $600 to $900 million budgetary shortfall next year. Even statements from Senate Democrat Appropriations staff and the Senate Republican Appropriations Committee Chairman place the deficit at between $800 million and $2 billion!

"In order to forestall an illegitimate raid of our Rainy Day Fund next year and most likely a massive tax increase, at best, state government needed to adopt a zero growth state budget that contained no more taxes, no more spending, and no more borrowing this year. Despite Pennsylvania's bottom of the barrel rankings across several critical economic indicators (49 th in job growth, 45 th in personal income growth, and 48 th in population growth among the 50 states) the 2008-09 state budget once again failed at limiting the growth of government spending in a fiscally responsible manner.

"While the governor has publicly acknowledged that a 'recession is a distinct possibility,' he continues to foster the idea to tax, borrow, and spend as the panacea to solve Pennsylvania's fiscal problems. After increasing spending by more than $7 billion in only five years time, the governor is once again extending his empty hands and demanding that Pennsylvania taxpayers allow him another opportunity to 'strategically invest' more than $4 billion more of their hard-earned money over the next several years in order to 'stimulate' the economy.

"If state government has failed to deliver a tangible rate of economic return for Pennsylvania's families in terms of property tax relief, job creation, improved roads and bridges, and reduced energy prices with $7 billion over five years, what reputable financial institution would hand over an additional $4 billion based on even more empty promises? How much spending is enough?"

State Rep. Sam Rohrer represents the 128th House District in Berks County. Rohrer has been a leader in pushing for the elimination of property taxes in Pennsylvania.

After five years in office, Gov. Ed Rendell has finally figured out there's a lot of old people in Pennsylvania.

A new report details the challenges of running a state when one in four residents will be 60 years of age or older by 2020.

You don't have to read the report to figure out that fewer workers will have to support the massive state government that Rendell has built over the past five years.

You don't have to read the report to realize that the tax burden on working Pennsylvanians is already too great thanks to Rendell.

You don't have to read the report to figure out that most of the state's young people are leaving because they can't afford to live in Pennsylvania anymore.

And you don't have to read the report to realize that an older population will put a greater strain on government resources.

It took Rendell five years to figure all this out?

Thanks to Ed Rendell's taxing policies, massive growth in state spending ($8 billion since 2003) and broken promises on property tax relief, most elderly Pennsylvanians are struggling to hold on to their homes.

If you want to read the Pennsylvania 2020 Vision Report, follow the link below.

Governor Rendell Says '2020 Vision Report' Outlines Challenges Facing State Government as Pennsylvania's Population Ages