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By Bill O’Boyle
In Focus
About 75 people — including a Wyoming Valley resident — have been camping out near the steps of the Capitol in Harrisburg trying to light a fire under legislators to pass Gov. Tom Wolf’s budget.
Chris Sloat, 48, of McLean Street in Wilkes-Barre, is one of those campers. They have been on the steps of the Capitol since Monday and are prepared to stay “as long as it takes.”
The weather has not cooperated. Rain has forced them to seek shelter. Wolf even provided a respite for them in a nearby church. Sloat said many of the campers brought their children to Harrisburg.
A licensed practical nurse, Sloat has four children — three graduated from Wilkes-Barre Area schools and one is about to enter the 10th grade at Meyers High School.
Sloat said she has seen what recent cuts in education have done to the system. She has seen what those cuts have done to education in general, especially in areas of special education.
So Sloat decided she would do what she could to convince our legislators — mostly those of the Republican Party — to set aside special interests and put forth a bipartisan effort that she and many Democrats contend is aimed at changing the “business as usual” atmosphere in Harrisburg.
Opposing viewpoint
Critics will say that Wolf represents the Democratic way of thinking and to a great extent, they are correct. But when it comes to this budget — Wolf’s first as governor — Sloat and her fellow campers feel this is more about doing what needs to be done rather than playing politics.
When I talked to Sloat on her cell phone, she was at the Capitol spreading the word about Wolf’s budget and why it needs to pass. She said people are joining the cause daily. Sloat and the others in this tent city began their campaign, so to speak, on Monday.
Sloat said she, for one, would not mind paying the higher personal income tax or a higher state sales tax that Wolf is proposing. And she supports placing a severance tax on the natural gas industry.
To not do that, Sloat said, is “crazy.”
Wolf claims the severance tax would bring in about $1 billion annually, and he plans to apply that to education, restoring the cuts made over the last four years by the previous (and Republican) administration. The GOP, mind you, has also been in the majority in the state House and Senate for the same amount of time and remains so.
So how does a brand new Democratic governor convince the Republican legislature that his ideas are better than theirs? People like Sloat and her fellow campers feel getting the word out to “the people” is the way.
Wolf claims he has a mandate from Pennsylvania voters who elected him overwhelmingly in November, defeating an incumbent Republican governor. The GOP legislators, who retained their majorities in the legislature, claim they received a similar mandate.
How two different political philosophies can receive conflicting mandates in the same election is beyond me.
Wolf’s message
But if you examine the gubernatorial election, it is reasonable to conclude that Tom Corbett is no longer governor because of the cuts he made to education. Wolf rode that message to an easy victory in the primary and a clear win in November.
So, does that count for anything as legislators vote on the budget? Apparently not for much. The Senate sent the GOP budget to Wolf on Tuesday, despite Wolf’s vow to veto it.
Sloat and the others who comprise the “Good Jobs and Healthy Communities” coalition are determined. They intend to stay in their tents until Wolf’s budget — at least most of it — is approved.
“We’ll switch out people if we have to,” Sloat said.
Sloat said Pennsylvania has been broken so long that it is time for a new direction.
“Classes have been cut, programs have been cut, education has been cut,” Sloat said. “Special needs kids have suffered the most. All kids deserve a quality education.”
Now who can argue with that? Regardless of political affiliation.
Taxing the gas industry is a no-brainer to people like Sloat. We have seen and heard all the claims. Pennsylvania sits on the largest reserve of natural gas, yet it is the only gas-producing state without a severance tax. As Sloat said, “That’s just crazy.”
Here to stay
Gas companies aren’t going anywhere. As Jeff Sheridan, Wolf’s press secretary, told me Monday, “Where would they go?”
Every other state with gas has a severance tax. “And the most gas is under our soil,” Sheridan said.
Sloat also favors raising the minimum wage and lowering property taxes.
“Wolf ran on those promises and he’s trying to keep them,” Sloat said.
Sloat said Pennsylvania’s working families should matter here. She said big corporations have received way too many tax breaks. She said the Republican Party is not in touch with the people.
Sloat said this budget should not be a political issue. She said change is needed and needed now to put Pennsylvania on the right track.
“We want to show we are not going away,” Sloat said. “These legislators are accountable to us.”
Bill O’Boyle may be reached at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
