MacNeil: Enough is enough in Harrisburg

By Scott Macneil

This article appeared June 19, 2010 in the Daily times.

I have had to make all the tough choices described above. As the November election will slowly creep up on us, I am asking the residents of the 162nd district to send me to Harrisburg to represent them as their State Representative.

Enough is enough! We deserve real reform in Harrisburg, not just the same tired talk from career politicians we get every election season. Within the next three to five years we are potentially looking at a 40-50 percent increase in property taxes.

In 2001, politicians in Harrisburg duped us by giving themselves a 50 percent increase in pension payouts. They then gave the state employees and teachers a 25 percent increase. Not only did they increase pension payouts, they cut the eligibility requirements to collect them from 10 to 5 years. This has resulted in projected shortfalls in state pension funds, which taxpayers will likely be expected to bail out in the future.

If elected to the State Legislature, I will introduce legislation for eight-year term limits for state legislators. I will introduce legislation to abolish the per diem the legislators receive each day they are in Harrisburg. I will also introduce legislation to rescind the automatic cost of living increase for legislators, judges, and other state-employed recipients.

We must place pension eligibility for state employees back to 10 years of continuous service. With new term limits in place, legislators will be prohibited from collecting pensions. The possible savings to Pennsylvania taxpayers would assist in closing the state's now gaping budget hole.

I will introduce legislation that would mimic the federal Hatch Act. The Hatch Act, passed in 1939, was designed to prohibit federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity. I would take it one step further and include all county, local, and school district employees for engaging in partisan political activity. Basically if you are paid by tax dollars you can't be involved in politics. This will be a step in the right direction to real government reform.

The prison system in our state needs major reform as well. State corrections expenditures are increasing every budget cycle. We are trending towards spending more per capita on prisons and corrections than on educating our children. Among such reforms should be: programs that will actually rehabilitate prisoners and utilize mandatory drug and alcohol program in the prison system. These programs may help eliminate the revolving door effect in our prison system.

Harrisburg must and should help create jobs by investing in our local communities and assisting small business where possible. Residents anticipate government to own up to the responsibility of fixing the infrastructure. Accordingly, any state money spent on purchasing, repairing, building or maintaining our infrastructure should stay within the state, i.e., paid to vendors domiciled in Pennsylvania. All outside vendors/contractors doing business with state government must reside within the states boundaries. Any products that outside vendors/contractors use that are available within the states boundaries must be purchased here. These initiatives would serve to keep our tax dollars right here in Pennsylvania and put Pennsylvanians to work.

I hope to meet each and every one of you while I am campaigning from now until the November election. The only way we are going to change the face of Harrisburg is if the voters of Pennsylvania stand up and elect candidates who want reform. I am one of those candidates.

We need representatives who will not take marching orders from party leaders and special interest groups. I guarantee that not one incumbent running for election will touch on cutting their pay, eliminating their pensions, term limits for legislators, a state version of the Hatch Act, and other issues I have touched on in this letter.

I will receive my pension when I retire from my own blood and sweat, not the blood and sweat of the taxpayers of Pennsylvania.

SCOTT MacNEIL

Democratic Candidate for

State Representative in the 162nd District

Sharon Hill Councilman

Member of the Carpenter Union Local 845