Can Pennsylvania Recall Gov. Tom Corbett?

[thoth]

I've had conversations lately with friends that surprised even me. Many of them are lifelong Republicans who can't stand Corbett and won't vote for him going forward. One family has a special needs child and they are getting killed by the blind slashing he is doing to programs in the state. Another, who is in finance and economics, can't stand his stubborn "no taxes" pledge. He fully acknowledges and is willing to pay an additional tax if there is a worthwhile need for it....like....oh I don't know....roads, bridges and education.

In one sense, he has none of the characteristics of a republican, as we've outlined above, so why would real republicans support him?

In another sense, he has all the characteristics of the caricature of a republican that has come to dominate that party. He sold out the state's resources to natural gas companies from Texas while securing little compensation for the state itself and arbitrarily cut social spending while maintaining programs his political allies like, and he says dumb stuff about abortion and authoritarianism all the time.

[eldondre]

Exactly. If that guy put a stake in the heart of the PLCB, lessened PA's onerous biz regulations/taxes, etc etc, he could talk about sticking probes wherever he wanted and I'd probably vote to reelect him. But he hasn't, so basically he's only known as the "guy who said embarrassing thing X"

he did lower the cap stock tax fairly dramatically in the last budget if I remember correctly. it was supposed to have been phased out under rendell but eddie kept putting it off to plug his budgets.
agreed though, the negatives outweight the positives, hopefully wagner will run again.

[thoth]

he did lower the cap stock tax fairly dramatically in the last budget if I remember correctly. it was supposed to have been phased out under rendell but eddie kept putting it off to plug his budgets.
agreed though, the negatives outweight the positives, hopefully wagner will run again.

Didn't know about that. Good step, but I feel like he could have done a lot more by implementing any kind of severance tax on fracking operations. You have a natural resource they need for their business and instead of selling it to prop up our crappy infrastructure and decrease other biz taxes across the board, you give it away because they paid for your inauguration party. Stupid.

[raider.adam]

You have a natural resource they need for their business and instead of selling it to prop up our crappy infrastructure and decrease other biz taxes across the board, you give it away because they paid for your inauguration party.

Just to tangent and address this point. I think people may tend to get this the wrong direction. Does Corbet (or any politician) do what he does because they are bought off to do it or are they given a lot of money because they are already for those interests?

Meaning, if a candidate supports environmentalism. Does he support it because he is getting money from the Sierra Club or does the Sierra Club give him money because that is what he is for?

[thoth]

Just to tangent and address this point. I think people may tend to get this the wrong direction. Does Corbet (or any politician) do what he does because they are bought off to do it or are they given a lot of money because they are already for those interests?

Meaning, if a candidate supports environmentalism. Does he support it because he is getting money from the Sierra Club or does the Sierra Club give him money because that is what he is for?

I hope he did it because they gave him a boatload of money, because otherwise he's simply an incompetent administrator. Fracking has tangible environmental impacts and he isn't even collecting funds from operators to deal with potential ecological damage from their industry. Fracking operators are captive to the location of natural resources and pay incredibly high excise taxes elsewhere. You have nothing to lose.

It's like Rendell inviting Casinos to PA and then not levying extra taxes on their operations. If he's for maintaining the states current asinine tax structure while you have an easily accessible revenue source that can bridge the gap while you cut or reform tax collection elsewhere, then he has certainly stuck to his guns. You can admire his consistency in that regard, but boy, he shouldn't be governor if that's what he's "about".

[eldondre]

Didn't know about that. Good step, but I feel like he could have done a lot more by implementing any kind of severance tax on fracking operations. You have a natural resource they need for their business and instead of selling it to prop up our crappy infrastructure and decrease other biz taxes across the board, you give it away because they paid for your inauguration party. Stupid.

it's unpopular since it penalizes companies for having assets in PA. I don't disagree with your point on the gas (I support a severance tax) but the last budget wasn't terrible, also reduced the limit at RACP expenditures. adam makes an interesting point though
Corbetizing Philadelphia – Next American City

[thoth]

it's unpopular since it penalizes companies for having assets in PA. I don't disagree with your point on the gas (I support a severance tax) but the last budget wasn't terrible, also reduced the limit at RACP expenditures. adam makes an interesting point though
Corbetizing Philadelphia – Next American City

Adam's point is totally valid, many people do unfairly conflate the correlations between donations and honestly held beliefs.

I just don't think Corbett really has any deep personal convictions about not taxing natural gas companies. In fact I don't think anybody really does. And I think that getting money from the gas lobby is the only logical reason that he has held out so staunchly against reasonable, popular calls for a tax on fracking companies.

[raider.adam]

I hope he did it because they gave him a boatload of money, because otherwise he's simply an incompetent administrator. Fracking has tangible environmental impacts and he isn't even collecting funds from operators to deal with potential ecological damage from their industry. Fracking operators are captive to the location of natural resources and pay incredibly high excise taxes elsewhere. You have nothing to lose.

It's like Rendell inviting Casinos to PA and then not levying extra taxes on their operations. If he's for maintaining the states current asinine tax structure while you have an easily accessible revenue source that can bridge the gap while you cut or reform tax collection elsewhere, then he has certainly stuck to his guns. You can admire his consistency in that regard, but boy, he shouldn't be governor if that's what he's "about".

Adam's point is totally valid, many people do unfairly conflate the correlations between donations and honestly held beliefs.

I just don't think Corbett really has any deep personal convictions about not taxing natural gas companies. In fact I don't think anybody really does. And I think that getting money from the gas lobby is the only logical reason that he has held out so staunchly against reasonable, popular calls for a tax on fracking companies.

Personally, I am completely on board with extraction taxes for natural resources. Part of the problem, from what I have been told from those in the know in Harrisburg, is that one side (mostly Democrats) want the new taxes to be new revenue and the other side (mostly Republicans) want the new taxes to be used to lower other taxes like the CNI so that way other businesses directly benefit from the gas industry as well. (and of course another sliver that just wanted nothing on them at all). Apparently there was no middle ground which ended up with initially no taxes and then eventually just impact fees.

As for Corbett's motivations, I could speculate, but I have nothing to base it on other than speculation.

I would have liked them to do extraction taxes and use the revenue to lower the CNI and PIT.

[thoth]

I would have liked them to do extraction taxes and use the revenue to lower the CNI and PIT.

Agreed. It's a no brainer.

[MarketStEl]

That has been one of the disappointing things. HE doesn't get vocal and wade in to the debate on things like PLCB privatization, but he doesn't hesitate to talk about sticking probes up women (and even then, doesn't speak about it in a way that would actually get more support).

...

Now that I type that out loud, probably best he doesn't talk about important things either.

Yeah, especially since he's done so well in that regard on transportation too. "Too important to be handled in the budget"? Where do you propose to handle it, Mr. Corbett?

[MarketStEl]

Exactly. If that guy put a stake in the heart of the PLCB, lessened PA's onerous biz regulations/taxes, etc etc, he could talk about sticking probes wherever he wanted and I'd probably vote to reelect him. But he hasn't, so basically he's only known as the "guy who said embarrassing thing X"

This is another funny thing: Every Republican governor of the state since I moved here at least launched a move to get rid of the PLCB. All of them suffered the same fate, granted, but at least they tilted at that windmill. Corbett hasn't even really paid lip service to this move, which many Democrats not working in the Capitol Building would also support.

I would have liked them to do extraction taxes and use the revenue to lower the CNI and PIT.

This registered Democrat would have been willing to split the baby with you.

I'm not saying this would have been the ideal, er, vehicle for this, but we will need new, not redirected, revenue to plug the transportation hole. My choice would have been to extend the state sales tax to motor fuel as a number of other states with state constitutional restrictions on motor fuel tax expenditures have done, but if some deal could have been struck to split the revenue from a severance tax between cutting the corporate profits tax and funding the transportation program, I'd have backed it.

[raider.adam]

This is another funny thing: Every Republican governor of the state since I moved here at least launched a move to get rid of the PLCB. All of them suffered the same fate, granted, but at least they tilted at that windmill. Corbett hasn't even really paid lip service to this move, which many Democrats not working in the Capitol Building would also support.

My theory is that previous previous GOP governors can tilt because they knew there was no chance it would pass the GA. This one has a problem advocating because it actually can pass the GA if he pushed it. I don't think he really wants to do it.

This registered Democrat would have been willing to split the baby with you.

I'm not saying this would have been the ideal, er, vehicle for this, but we will need new, not redirected, revenue to plug the transportation hole. My choice would have been to extend the state sales tax to motor fuel as a number of other states with state constitutional restrictions on motor fuel tax expenditures have done, but if some deal could have been struck to split the revenue from a severance tax between cutting the corporate profits tax and funding the transportation program, I'd have backed it.

I am not for the severance tax being used to fund transportation. I think there are plenty of ways transportation can fund transportation and should. Use the extraction tax (I like that term better than severance) to lower personal income and corporate tax and then do things like raise vehicle registration fees, gas tax and other recommendations to pay for transportation funding.

Indirectly the extraction tax is still paying for the transportation funds since people will pay less to the government from their paychecks, but then pay more for using the roads. At least this way people have a more accurate view of what their personal transportation costs really are and make informed lifestyle decisions based on that.

Plus, if revenues from extraction taxes drops, it doesn't impact the transportation funding.

[eldondre]

Yeah, especially since he's done so well in that regard on transportation too. "Too important to be handled in the budget"? Where do you propose to handle it, Mr. Corbett?

funding isn't the only thing broken with transportation...so is prioritization. That said be needs tto move but at the same time were talking a lot of money when one considers replacing the turnpike funding and the pension crunch. Corbett lacks leadership skills IMO but the answer isn't simply more taxes for everything. I'm open to voting for someone else but the problems at hand aren't going to be easily handled IMO.

[Gio7707]

https://www.facebook.com/DecarceratePA#!/DecarceratePA

[Gio7707]

POWER TO THE PEOPLE !!




Protesters disrupt Corbett’s town hall at Art Museum - Philly.com

Gov. Corbett was repeatedly interrupted by protesters representing a variety of interests during a town-hall meeting Wednesday night at the Philadelphia Museum of Art organized by a conservative talk-radio host.

WPHT's Dom Giordano ended the event a half-hour earlier than its planned 90 minutes when it became clear that Corbett could not answer questions without being shouted at inside the Van Pelt Auditorium. Police removed more than 10 people from the meeting.

At one point, protesters interrupted the program for seven minutes. Several groups unfurled banners and chanted against expanding the state prison system: "Fund education, not incarceration."

There were shouts against Corbett's support of Marcellus Shale drilling, his cuts in welfare, his funding of education, and his signing of a death warrant for Terrance Williams, who is to be executed Oct. 3.

[raider.adam]

POWER TO THE PEOPLE !!




Protesters disrupt Corbett’s town hall at Art Museum - Philly.com

Gov. Corbett was repeatedly interrupted by protesters representing a variety of interests during a town-hall meeting Wednesday night at the Philadelphia Museum of Art organized by a conservative talk-radio host.

WPHT's Dom Giordano ended the event a half-hour earlier than its planned 90 minutes when it became clear that Corbett could not answer questions without being shouted at inside the Van Pelt Auditorium. Police removed more than 10 people from the meeting.

At one point, protesters interrupted the program for seven minutes. Several groups unfurled banners and chanted against expanding the state prison system: "Fund education, not incarceration."

There were shouts against Corbett's support of Marcellus Shale drilling, his cuts in welfare, his funding of education, and his signing of a death warrant for Terrance Williams, who is to be executed Oct. 3.

I'm all for protesting, but that manner isn't good. It is tough as it is to get elected officials to speak to the people and let alone at an event where you can ask question. Disrupting it actually hurts the process (and yes, that goes for people that do it to Democratic officials too).

[Gio7707]

sorry disagree. obviously only publishing and going active on the streets and speak and show banners, thats the only voice people can be heard ...look at the video of mitt...thank god it's public ...

Again ..power to the people !!

because all we do is comin home from work and watch the news , complain and then go to sleep and wake up and go to work again ....I choose to fight !!

[raider.adam]

sorry disagree. obviously only publishing and going active on the streets and speak and show banners, thats the only voice people can be heard ...look at the video of mitt...thank god it's public ...

Again ..power to the people !!

because all we do is comin home from work and watch the news , complain and then go to sleep and wake up and go to work again ....I choose to fight !!

Go ahead and fight. Just saying if I was there and didn't get to ask the Governor a question about something I think is important because of people yelling and screaming in the room, I would be a bit pissed with the protestors.

[Naveen]

Part of having a functioning democracy is allowing everyone to have their say. Shouting down people you disagree with is wrong and something most people don't support. It was disgusting when the Tea Partiers did it during the town hall meetings of 2009, and it's pretty disgusting now.

As Adam says, protest what you are against -- that's almost your duty as a citizen. But to disrupt a public gathering? What does that accomplish except making your side look like jackasses? You end up doing your own cause a disservice most of the time, IMO.

[mixiboi]

I saw this while I was in Harrisburg.