Taking Pennsylvania Forward

By Dan Johnson

There are SPECIFIC things we need to address to enable PA to be a state that is high on a national list, not at the bottom. Here are my goals for accomplishing success.

No matter who says it or when, it is a universal set of statements - but again, press a politician for specifics and you are likely to get into a dance and when the music stops, you have to wonder what was the point if there is no change, right?

Okay - so lets not just say the election statements - lets dive in and be specific; something I feel is necessary as someone running for office.

TAXES - as I mentioned in my Position on Turning Pennsylvania Around (also on this site) I stated that outright ELIMINATION of school property taxes returns $10 Billion dollars back to taxpayers who will then either save, spend or give away the money they otherwise wouldnt have had. The likelihood of spending it is high and, as a result, that creates demand for goods and services which, in order to keep up, businesses have to have staff - that creates jobs. Because School Property Taxes also hit employers who are owners of property too, this frees up money they would have had to pay to expand their facilities, add new equipment, hire more staff, spend on research and development or, better yet, provide extra cash for those interested in starting a new business.

TAXES 2 - property school tax isnt the only big tax we have. Any tax is a burden, though we recognize we do good roads and police and fire. If we look to want to get off the bottom of the economic list of the 50 states and try to be a place where businesses could start and be successful or for existing facilities to grow or relocate here, we have to address the insane 10% Corporate tax.

Right now, there are those who would offer to cut it by one-half percent (0.5) per year for 6 years, bringing it down to somewhere around 7% by 2018.

Well, Im in business and let me tell you, if I could wait 6 years - I would - because why start now when I will be paying less in the future. Unless there is some huge demand for my product and I need to act now, there is no incentive for this kind of cut to encourage me to do anything but wait. Classic political effort - good intention but no thorough practical application.

Instead, lets ELIMINATE the 10% tax. WHat does that tell a start up? What does that tell an existing business? What does that say to a business looking to relocate to a different state where things might be better? It says 'PENNSYLVANIA - OPEN FOR BUSINESS". New businesses would open - that creates jobs. Existing businesses would have more cash to expand and add jobs. AND, best of all, by offering no corporate tax, there are businesses who would be reviewing where they are located and see an advantage to relocating here - that creates jobs, improves lives and brings in revenues to the state.

ECONOMY - through the ELIMINATION of the property tax, $10Billion dollars goes back into the hands of Pennsylvanians to spend - that is a huge amount of money that, when spent, will jolt the state's economic indicators and propel us forward for the long term.

SPENDING - the state may have had increases in its budgets for 30 plus years until recently, however, the first cut in many decades amounted to less than 1%. I dont know about you, but when was less than 1% a "CUT"? Thats right - it technically is, but its a drop in the bucket.

We need to take a full TOP DOWN REVIEW of every department and expense in this state - every single department - not just waste fraud and abuse, Im talking about consolidation or elimination of those things that dont make sense. If a horse and a car both get you to the same place but the car saves time and money and allows you to be more productive and efficient - wouldnt you take the car? The same is true with PA and its operations - what isnt effective, what can be improved and what should be consolidated to eliminate redundancy. If a department or budget cant be justified, it should be capped, cut and eliminated.

BUDGET - its great that the budget has a 'technical' cut - but its essentially the same budget isnt it? Its built from existing programs with existing expenses, with a few areas reduced so the 'pain is shared by all'. We can do a better job than even that though by changing the way we budget.

We should have a TOP DOWN BUDGET MODEL. Just like in business, I take my expected revenues and then I determine my profit and I proceed to put in the things I know are essential in the expenses and with what is left, I determine what I can afford to spend on other things. Everything should have an analysis done to prove a return on our taxpayers dollars. If it cant be justified and show a return that benefits a majority - it shouldnt be in the budget.

If we treat the state like a business treats its operation, we will make the reductions we need, send a signal of confidence in money management to our citizens, and waste fraud and abuse will go down because there will be less opportunities to hide in a big bloated budget with automatic increases worked in.

PREVAILING WAGE - many people dont know what this is. It is essentially a requirement to public construction projects (roads, schools, etc) that says the 'prevailing' wage is the one that must be paid when it comes to labor. That forces a rate that might not be what someone is willing to work for and, as a result, INCREASES expenses - using your tax dollars. It is estimated that projects impacted by prevailing wage cost 15 to 40% more than they should.

Say for example you have $100 Million to pave a stretch of highway in the state and it costs $1 Million per mile. Without prevailing wage, you could get 100 miles paved right? Well, if Prevailing wage increases costs 15 to 40%, using the low of 15%, then $15Million MORE is spent than necessary, reducing the amount of miles you could pave down to 85 miles.

Now what makes sense about that? You still spent $100Million, but got less done as a result. Is that efficient use of tax payer dollars? No.

Add in the fact that the state does take 'bids' from union and non union firms - but if prevailing wage is at the union amount - that means the non union firm is losing money and isnt interested in bidding, thereby ensuring that the job stays at prevailing wage, stays at a higher cost than needed, and increases our expense. There is no competitive bid process under prevailing wage.

That needs to change. We need to ELIMINATE PREVAILING WAGE and allow competitive bids for projects paid for with PA Taxpayer money.

RIGHT TO WORK - PA is NOT a right to work state. What is a right to work? Imagine you are applying for a job and that job has a union presence. Because we arent a Right to Work state - you would be faced with the unhappy choice of either a) joining the union and pay union dues or b) paying the 'equivalent' of the union dues in the form of a fee even though you didnt join the union.

How is that right? That essentially forces you to join a union since you are paying the fee anyway.

It shouldnt be that way. If you want to join a union, you can and should be able to. But you should also have the choice not to and not be forced to pay the 'fee'. Thats right to work in its simplest form.

We must PASS A LAW to become a RIGHT TO WORK state.

PRIVATIZING TO SAVE - the state has been involved in things it shouldnt have been for years. For example - liquor stores and rest stops. Ever go somewhere and not find what you are looking for? Prices fixed? Service not the greatest? Hours also fixed? What if you couldnt get the product anywhere else? That would be called a monopoly right? Well, we have that in the states control of the liquor stores. Why in this day and age would we want the state in business? It cant pass budgets on time (until recently), it cant manage its finances, and yet we willingly accept it to run stores, rest stops and other things?

We should review every single 'business' the state is in or operates to find out what can be leased, sold or privatized in partnership with the private sector to reduce expenses (lowers tax needs) and to make government focus on what it should be focused on - the things individuals need that serve the greater good - education, etc.

Lets PRIVATIZE everything that make sense to reduce expenses and get government out of business where it doesnt belong because it has shown it isnt better at doing what businesses can.

PUBLIC PENSION REFORM - there are benefits to any job right? WHen you apply you want to know about vacation, holiday pay, overtime, etc. You get selected and go in and do a job and hopefully your employer gives you a raise. You have a 401K and contribute and try to save for retirement. Thats normal, right?

Not if you are an elected official however - pension plans, payraises voted in by those who are elected, etc and all paid for by you and me, the taxpayer.

We have to do something in general about pensions - they are under or unfunded and there are clauses that make them more expensive each year, which takes our tax dollars away from needed areas like transportation, infrastructure, etc.

I will refuse a pension, refuse any payraise, refuse any state provided car and will pay into my own healthcare. I wont be a part of the growing problem we have in our state - but I will be seeking ways to reduce the liability and to ensure this problem doesnt grow. It starts with me.

HEALTHCARE - Obamacare is one thing - while it hits the Supreme Court shortly, it will be decided as constitutional or not this summer afer the Primary is over. But there is something equally as bad that already exists - PA Healthcare mandates on our insurances, prescriptions and prevents us from having lower costs.

There are 50 or so mandates on PA citizens health care beyond what Obamacare has and it keeps our costs high. Why cant we have the same tax benefits companies have when it comes ot buying health care? Why cant we buy healthcare plans from another state which might have a lower cost? Why cant we pick and choose the components of our healthcare instead of being given only 1 or two options that are loaded with things we might not want or need?

We need to create a cafeteria plan and allow people to ahve a choice to put the plan together that they want not whats told to them or dictated by the state.

We need to allow inter-state competition to help drive down cost while increasing choices for citizens to find the best health care possible.

2ND AMENDMENT - the right to bear arms is Federal and State protected - yet there are dozens of groups that want to limit or restrict this right.

I am an NRA member and a gun owner and I oppose ANY restriction that limits our rights and REJECT the goal of these groups which is to ban firearms.

I will defend the right to own firearms, vote against restrictions lobbied for by lobbyists and groups out to take away this freedom, and oppose the efforts to make it difficult to conceal/carry.

Beyond the defense of our rights, there are things we should look into - including allowing hunting on sunday - keeps hunters in PA, adds revenue to our state coffers and keeps the sport alive.

In general - my positions are like so many I have met - basic and fundamental. My background in business gives me the focus of taking PA and turning it around but also addressing the things that have slowly crept up on us, slowed us down and contributed to our decline as a strong state and a good place to do business.

If we turn it around and eliminate the things that tie us down, we will be doing a great service for our kids and for future generations who decide to live here and raise a family....but we have to do that work now! Every delay is only longer until things improve.

Thank You. Dan