Sacrificing Pennsylvania Pawns : JackLewis.net

July 9, 2007

Sacrificing Pennsylvania Pawns

The state of Pennsylvania hung out it's "Closed" sign yesterday.

Pennsylvania governor, Ed "Fast Eddie" Rendell sent 24,000 state employees on unpaid furlough as of midnight Sunday night. Of course not one to misplace priorities, Rendall allowed casino employees to continue to work in the State funded (mafia controlled?) casinos and "slot parlors".

Rendall and the Republican controlled state legislator are disagreeing on the state budget, and even though the shut down was not economically necessary (Pennsylvania currently has a $650 million surplus), Rendall, once thought to be a prime candidate for the Democrat Presidential nominee, realized the suffering of 24,000 underpaid state employees might help him get concessions for his pet projects, one of which is his energy plan which would tax electricity to pay for alternative energy programs.

Some are worried that the state's Centers for Taxing Stupid People (commonly referred to as "Casinos") may also be shut down, drastically reducing the amount of graft delivered to various politicians and mafia dons.

Pa. Senate Republicans say that Rendall's energy plan is the main sticking point. Rendall's plan call for $850 million in new taxes to be used for fuel additives such as soy derivatives, liquefied coal, ethanol, Jolt Cola and/or pixy dust. Meanwhile an estimated $2.6 million is added to the budget surplus each day the 24,000 employees are not being paid. At least there is some consolation to the furloughed employees.

Also, "Fast Eddie" Rendell and 2,000 some-odd, high-ranking, exorbitantly-paid, administration officials, state judges and legislators, will "work without pay" for the duration of the furlough, but receive full back pay once the budget is approved. No word if the other 24,000 ~~schmucks~~ state employees will get any back pay at all.

A state employee who wishes to remain anonymous, thanked the governor for his efforts, and assured him that all 24,000 furloughed employee could definitely "feel the governor behind them".

Posted by Danny Carlton at July 9, 2007 8:34 AM

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I find our priorities in PA to be repulsive. We make sure we can keep the lottery going, the casinos simply walk all over the law doing as they please and stay open, and we figure out a way to keep the state stores open. Yet most of PennDOT is considered nonessential.

We can gamble and drink. Great priorities. We are a Pathetic state!!!!!

I heard a rumor if the furlough goes on until Tuesday PennDOT is going to bus their people into to protest. Instead I think they should bus them to the casinos and they should go in and fill up the seats. Play one coin an hour so they don't get kicked out. That would actually have an impacted and they would be standing around in the heat and they could even get free drinks!!!!

I wish the people knew (and cared) about how many of our politicians have hidden agendas and are simply using the PA state political system as means to their own ends. If they looked close at most of the politicians involved with the formation of the laws surrounding the casinos, they would find that many of them are gone from politics running their own businesses that the laws they passed created. Many of the ones that aren't going have there hands in the pot and are staying in place to protect their assets. This is not true of all of them, but enough of them to make you feel sick.

It is too bad the Governor is getting such a bad rap. He gave the Legislature his proposed budget in February. The only reason we are in this current mess is the legislature knows they can use these conditions to apply pressure to make him give in to their demands. They chose to bring on these conditions. It was completely avoidable. But if they would have done the right thing and reviewed the budget in a timely manner, they wouldn't have the leverage they have with the furlough.

This whole thing was intention. It wasn't because of lack of time.

Posted by: thatch at July 9, 2007 10:04 AM

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July 9, 2007

Sacrificing Pennsylvania Pawns

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