News & Brews February 18, 2025
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State budget hearings kick off today
Lawmakers will launch several weeks of state budget hearings today, two weeks after Gov. Shapiro proposed a $51.5 billion budget that includes $3.9 billion in new spending even as the state faces a huge budget deficit. The Post-Gazette explains that the largest share of the proposed budget, at almost 80%, is human services at $21.2 billion and “education” at $19.8 billion. (Of course, this doesn’t really go to “education” but rather to propping up an education bureaucracy that’s largely been failing to educate students for years.) GOP state Sen. Scott Martin (Lancaster County) “noted that Medicaid costs — which drove up the projected $21.2 billion budget for Human Services … have been inflated by a ‘massive hit’ after the public insurance program began covering new weight-loss drugs like Ozempic.”
Shapiro’s minimum wage pitch is ‘insanity’
Business owners are reacting to Gov. Shapiro’s proposal to increase minimum government-mandated labor costs to $15 per hour, with one entrepreneur calling the arbitrary rate “insanity.” the Tribune-Review reports, “Most say they already pay workers more than the minimum wage, and the rate should be set by the market, not by the government…. Business owners said they already are absorbing the rising costs of food, goods and services, and would likely be forced to pass any additional labor costs on to consumers.” This is a good time to remember that the real minimum wage is zero. And imposing higher labor costs on businesses has already led to workers’ losing their jobs.
Krasner to run for 3rd term
Today, controversial Philly District Attorney Larry Krasner is expected to launch his campaign for re-election to a third term. Krasner’s progressive, soft-on-crime approach has drawn widespread criticism from folks who value being able to walk down the street without getting mugged, assaulted, or worse. In a news release on today’s announcement, Krasner hilariously takes aim at “billionaires” on the Right, while conveniently leaving out his own backing from liberal billionaire George Soros. Krasner also talks about “working closely with law enforcement partners” while conveniently omitting his refusal to work with federal immigration officials to enforce immigration law.
Lawmaker wants more transparency in public-private partnerships
Republican state Rep. Seth Grove (York County) plans to “introduce legislation to require public-private partnerships, such as the Team PA Foundation, created through a governor’s executive order to adhere to Pennsylvania’s Right to Know laws and produce yearly financial reports.” Team PA, of course, is the group that’s come under scrutiny for gifting Shapiro thousands of dollars in sports tickets while refusing to disclose its donors. “Public-private partnerships can be beneficial to taxpayers. That doesn’t mean legislative oversight can be side-stepped,” Grove said. “Since Team PA was created, it has funneled funds to sitting governors, including Gov. Josh Shapiro, to cover the costs to attend countless sporting events, such as the Super Bowl. This raises questions about transparency, particularly when it comes to the gift ban the executive branch imposed on itself.”
Shapiro on the sidelines
As lawmaker prepare to get to work on the state budget, Gov. Shapiro is continuing his trend of not working. PennLive reports that tonight, Shapiro will head “to Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh … to make his NCAA basketball commentating debut in the live radio broadcast of the Pitt-Syracuse game on 93.7 The Fan.” As the story notes, Shapiro “never made it to center court in college basketball,” so perhaps this is his attempt to finally get in the game. It’s unclear how much taxpayer money will be spent on this trip, as it undoubtedly will involve state police protection for the governor. We can’t help but think his time (and taxpayer dollars) might be better spent, oh, we don’t know … maybe working?