The LuLac Edition #3110, January 2nd, 2016

WHY WOLF VETOED THE BUDGET

Governor Tom Wolf. (Photo: Philly.com) 

There has been a lot of talk about the leadership skills of Governor Tom Wolf since he vetoed the Budget sent to him the other day, aka  as late last year. Critics will say that Wolf could have released the monies to agencies during the summer during the stalemate. Well you see he couldn’t do that because at that time the Governor was in negotiations with the House and Senate. Working diligently with the Pa. House, Wolf had a budget deal in place.
That was until the State House of Representatives decided that the version adopted by their own Senate was not what they would support. On New Year’s Day, I heard a State Representative named Bloom on a replay of Sue Henry’s program whining that Wolf was doing a “secret deal” to fund those damn Philadelphians and that was baaaaaad!
Philadelphia, like it or not has citizens of the state that have schools. They also pay taxes and are subject to the same rates as anywhere else in the State. But let’s make this simple for people who can’t understand common logic.
Senate Bill 1073 would provide hundreds of millions million more for pre-K to 12 education Experts say that would be the difference is $305 million. Plus, it provides $94 million more for human services. From a practical standpoint, that bill would hire thousands of teachers as well as guidance counselors, nurses and specialist in science and technology, music and art. People especially on the right wing in Pennsylvania have it wrong about the Governor’s relationship with teachers. He wants to hire teachers that are qualified to teach the jobs that are available in Pennsylvania in THIS CENTURY! He is not beholden to the teachers’ unions for his election. Wolf would have won without teacher’s support because he was a reasonable alternative to Tom Corbett. The teachers unions backed Rob McCord in the primary and were so hot to back any Democratic nominee for one reason. During the 2010 race the Unions were tepid in their support of the Democratic nominee Dan Onorato because they didn’t believe Corbett was going to cut education. More than one educator told me they would not let complacency happen again. All that said, Wolf never needed the Teacher’s unions to win.
That was then but let’s talk about now. House Bill 1460 became a prisoner of the extremists in the State House because these politocos don’t want to raise taxes on anything. If this budget became law, the education funding would go back to the Tom Corbett level. That spending plan regressed Education in Pennsylvania, especially Pre K progress. It’s simple. Do you want the state to grow or regress? What kills me about modern day Republicans is this, they are soooooooooooo worried about babies before they come out of the womb but essentially have no regard for kids after they are born. 
Instead of castigating Wolf for his budget veto, people in the state should realize this is a "win win" situation. It gives reasonable members of the House and Senate to try to figure out just what is sensible for not only the short term but the long term too. It also frees up badly needed money for Social Service agencies and School Districts who were on the edge. 
Tom Wolf did the only thing he could do. If he caved into pressure from the House, he would be abandoning his campaign pledge for a better Pennsylvania. Any other politician would have done that but as Wolf has stated over and over again, he is an "unconventional" leader. Sadly, starting with a guy named Ben Franklin, Pennsylvania has had only had a handful of this type. This is a lot like Washington D.C. where the House can’t get along with the Senate and the Senate can’t get along with the House. Both Republican! On the national and state level, it is quite evident that Republicans are incapable of governing. As in Washington, Republicans in Pennsylvania would rather burn the building down and point with pride at the ashes rather than work on making State government work for everybody.

MEDIA MATTERS

SUNDAY MAGAZINE

This Week on Sunday Magazine
Magic 93's Frankie in the Morning speaks with Pat O'Brien from Idea Works Marketing and Cordie Braun from Blue Chip Farm Animal Refuge with details on their Adopt-a Kennel Campaign.
An encore of Brian Hughes' interview with spiritual counselor Michelle McNichols.
And an encore of Brian's interview with David Slade from healthy Living Solutions about his physical challenges and adopting a healthier eating lifestyle.
Sunday Magazine, Sunday morning at 5am on NASH-FM, 93.7, 5:30am on 97BHT, 6am on 97.9X and Sports Radio 590, WARM, and 6:25am on Magic 93.

ECTV LIVE

ECTV Live kicks off its 2016 series of programs with an outline of plans for Scranton's annual celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King's Birthday. Cathy Hardaway from the MLK Committee will discuss the 3-day observance with David DeCosmo and his co-host Rusty Fender.
ECTV Live can be seen on Comcast channel 19 (61 in some locations) and is broadcast several times daily throughout the week with the main broadcast airing at Noon each day.

BOLD GOLD COMMUNITY FORUM

This week's guest is Sarah Regan from the New Vintage Ensemble discussing the upcoming production of "Hamlet". Tune in Sunday January 3 at 6 am on 94.3 The Talker; 6:30 on NEPA's Sports Radio-The Game 1400/1440 am and 106.7 fm; and at 7:30 on 105 The River.