News & Brews October 10, 2024
Get News & Brews in your inbox each day: Subscribe here!
‘America’s most consequential battleground state’
The New York Times turns its focus to the battle to win America’s most critical battleground state: Pennsylvania. “There may be seven main battlegrounds in the race for the White House in 2024, all of which could prove crucial. But Pennsylvania stands apart as the state that top strategists for both Ms. Harris and Mr. Trump have circled as the likeliest to tip the election.” In TV ads alone, Harris, Trump, and their allies will spend $350 million in Pa. By comparison, that’s “$142 million more than the next closest state and more than Michigan and Wisconsin combined.”
And … Pa.’s most consequential battleground county?
Reuters takes a look at the ground game in Erie County, which it describes as the county that “picks presidents.” Indeed, Erie County “has voted with the winning presidential candidate for the last four elections.” The story notes, “While the Harris campaign is using its sizable cash advantage and newfound enthusiasm to build a towering ground-game operation aimed at mobilizing supporters and identifying new voters, the Trump campaign is focused on infrequent voters and betting on a voter registration drive that has cut into the traditional Democratic advantage.”
WSJ: ‘CNN & Bob Casey’s economic illiteracy’
If you watch or read CNN, you probably came across the recent hit piece on Dave McCormick that claims he “led hedge fund that bet against some of Pennsylvania’s most iconic companies.” Well, the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board explains how the story proves that Casey and his press allies “can’t find any wrongdoing during Mr. McCormick’s five years (2017-2022) running Bridgewater, so they’re peddling economic illiteracy disguised as investigative reporting.” The editorial gives an economic primer on short-selling, then asks, “If Mr. Casey disapproved of Bridgewater’s investment strategy, why did he tap the hedge fund to manage government worker pension investments when he was state treasurer some two decades ago?” In short (no pun intended), the ed board concludes, “This episode goes far to explain why Congress is filled with lawyers and political lifers who’ve never met a payroll. Any business person who runs for office these days can expect his record to be distorted as somehow scandalous. It’s far easier to run as a cipher with no record of accomplishment like Mr. Casey. No wonder Washington is a mess.”
Proposed Allegheny County tax increase draws ire
Republican elected officials in Allegheny County have been quick to denounce the 46% property tax increase recently proposed by County Executive (and former Dem state Rep.) Sara Innamorato. Among them are At-Large GOP Council Member Sam DeMarco, who said, “This is, pure and simple, a penalty imposed on families and seniors who invested in their homes, improved their properties, and are now expected to cover the new executive’s political agenda, an agenda that is thin on details and lacking in clear benefits to the people being asked to foot the bill.” And GOP state Rep. Jason Ortitay added, “Seniors on fixed incomes have seen their retirement savings eroded by inflation, and this tax increase could push them past the point of no return.” Meanwhile, some Democrat council members are backing the tax increase.
Remember the Philly soda tax?
If you’ve paid attention to southeast Pa. for a number of years, you can’t forget the huge battle over imposing a tax on sugary drinks in Philadelphia (including the weird terminal discrepancy at the Philly airport). Well, seven years after the tax went into effect, Route Fifty takes a look at how soda tax revenues are falling in Philly and some other cities. This calls into question whether such a tax is a good source of funding for permanent programs (answer: no). Per Adam Hoffer, director of excise tax policy at the non-partisan Tax Foundation, “I would be hesitant to … use an excise tax to fund something long-term or something that you will need revenue for a long time. Tobacco, for instance, has fallen over time.”