Lincoln Blog
March 15, 2010:
As the state budget process begins to shift into high gear Governor Ed Rendell is once again stumping around the state advocating higher taxes.
A $3 billion plus structural budget deficit was left unaddressed last year, papered over with federal stimulus money and one time infusions of cash from various funds. Add in the fact revenue has fallen short of projections, and we once again face a budget crisis.
Rendell and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Dwight Evans - predictably - argue more revenue is needed. As usual, scant attention is paid to cutting costs. The fact is many inefficient and even unnecessary functions are performed by state government and should be cut from the budget.
Many state agencies waste money. A recent example involves the archaic Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB).
It seems the PLCB recently raided three taverns in the City of Philadelphia for allegedly failing to register some of the brands of beer they sell in their establishments. The state actually requires that each establishment register and pay a $75.00 annual fee for each brand of beer sold.
In addition to being an unreasonable additional cost on bars and restaurants, the system is - surprise - flawed and inefficient.
The raids, and subsequent citations and potentially fines, all were prompted because some brands of beer have unusual names, and the establishments abbreviated the brands. The PLCB, not recognizing the abbreviations, proceeded to claim the brands were unregistered.
So here we have the state government implementing an unreasonable and costly regulation on businesses, spending state dollars to send enforcement officers to raid the bars, additional money on administrative and prosecution costs, and also the time of a spokesman to make comments to the media. Meanwhile, the businesses involved are incurring additional expenses to defend themselves against what was essentially a bureaucratic snafu.
True, the dollar amounts in this instance are small compared to the billions spent by the state. But, the example bespeaks a mindset that allows the commonwealth to perform hundreds, perhaps thousands of useless tasks all of which add up to significant dollars.
No, we the people of Penn's Woods should not pay more in taxes this year. And we should never be called upon to pay higher taxes until and unless state government cleans up its own shop, eliminates unnecessary expenditures, and returns to the confines of what tasks are really required.
