I think that it would be appropriate to publish an open letter requesting Tom Corbett to invite fellow Republicans Arlen Specter and John Murtha to give up the combined $20 million earmarked for them in Rendell’s 2010-2011 Budget. The amount is small, but such an action would be highly symbolic, since both new debt financed projects ($10 million for an Arlen Specter library at the Philadelphia University and $10 million for a John P. Murtha Center for Public Policy), represent rewarding political allies with pork.
Since the state of Pennsylvania is on the brink of bankruptcy and Corbett has promised to cut spending and debt, this would seem to be a no-brainer.
BIG GOVERNMENT: “This week, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell will sign his eighth and final state budget (term limits prevent him from seeking re-election). The budget passed with no tax increase, and represents $1 billion less than Gov. Rendell requested. However, the budget merely passes the bill onto future years, and future generations, through accounting tricks and borrowing for egregious pork projects…
“With his final budget, Ed Rendell has both cemented his legacy—spending beyond his means while rewarding political allies with pork—and cemented two more monuments to Pennsylvania’s political aristocracy.”
A terrible waste of taxpayer money. Let them build their own libraries. Disgusting ego trip.