Coalition Calls on Lawmakers to Raise Revenue, Preserve Essential Services
July 13, 2009
Dozens of groups will descend on the state Capitol this week to tell lawmakers the time has come to resolve the state budget by raising additional revenues and tapping budget reserves - in addition to making cuts to discretionary programs.
The effort, spearheaded by Better Choices for Pennsylvania, a coalition of groups committed to preserving essential public services by taking a balanced approach to closing the budget shortfall, got under way today in the Capitol Rotunda.
"Lawmakers must take the courageous step of raising additional revenues," said the Rev. Sharon Easterling, Executive Director of the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children. "Please have the political courage to do the right thing for our children and our future."
The Rev. Sharon Easterling, Executive Director of the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children, discusses the state budget from a faith perspective.
"We're here to say no deal unless it's a good deal for Pennsylvania's families and children," said Shelly Yanoff, Executive Director of Public Citizens for Children and Youth.
Some lawmakers oppose new revenue or using reserves like the Rainy Day Fund to balance the budget. House leaders plan to present a budget blueprint this week that would cut more than $3 billion from Governor Ed Rendell's $28.8 billion budget proposal, requiring 6,000 state employee layoffs, hospital closures, major cuts to education funding, and steep property tax hikes.
The impact would be felt by every Pennsylvanian, but especially children, seniors, the disabled, out-of-work Pennsylvanians and others struggling to keep their homes and health care during this recession.
For many young children, the cuts being considered could deny them access to pre-kindergarten and other early childhood programs.
"We can stand here and debate for hours whether we should increase taxes or cut funding," said Elsa Stuckman Bennett, a preschool teacher with Woodland Academy in Philadelphia, who was one of the speakers at today's Capitol event. "The fact is we will pay one way or the other. It's just a question of when. We can do the right thing and pay now, or we can defer the problem over to the next generation and pay more. The choice is yours."
"But as for me, I choose to pay now, so that today's children can face a better tomorrow."
Elsa Stuckman Bennett, a preschool teacher with Woodland Academy in Philadelphia, and Sharon Neilson, Woodland's director, address the rally.
"All students in the Commonwealth deserve to have access to high quality schools," said the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, Director of the Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania, who also spoke at the Capitol. "Many in the faith community are willing to share the increased cost for that to happen because it makes our whole society a better place to live and raise a family."
Sharon Ward, Director of the nonpartisan Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, said Pennsylvania is facing its worst economy in decades, and that the state must take responsibility for resolving a multi-billion dollar shortfall.
"As legislators work to reach agreement on a budget deal in the most difficult economy in a generation, we urge them to make the better choice for Pennsylvania," Ward said.
"This will not be easy," she added. "The right thing to do is often the most difficult thing to do. But we are here to let our lawmakers know that if you don't abandon us, we won't abandon you."
Both tax increases and state spending cuts have an impact on the economy, but budget cuts alone do more harm than raising taxes during a severe recession, Ward noted. Economists have found that every dollar in state budget cuts reduces a full dollar of economic activity, while tax increases do not hit the economy dollar-for-dollar like budget cuts do. That is because individuals, especially higher-income earners, save a portion of their income, so tax increases remove less than a full dollar of economic activity.
Better Choices for Pennsylvania is a coalition of groups committed to taking a balanced approach to resolving the state budget shortfall - one that raises revenue and uses budget reserves in addition to making cuts to discretionary programs. The coalition's goal is to stop counterproductive budget cuts, preserve essential services that families rely on and protect our future economic growth.
