Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania (LPPA)
Thursday, February 18th, 2010Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania (LPPA)
3915 Union Deposit Road #223
Harrisburg, PA 17109
www.lppa.org
For Immediate Release: February 17, 2010
Contact: Doug Leard (Media Relations) at Media-Relations@lppa.org or
Michael Robertson (Chair) at 1-800-R-RIGHTS / chair@lppa.org
Harrisburg – If our state government in Harrisburg were a household, its kitchen and its budget wouldn’t pass home economics. The cafeteria in Pennsylvania’s Capitol, the Capitol Cafe, failed a Department of Agriculture inspection. According to the Pennsylvania Independent (www.paindependent.com), the cafe was sited for “13 violations including the presence of rodents, improper storage of food, and contamination during food preparation, storage and display.” The café had already been closed in December due to a series of violations.
The Capitol Cafe is just the tip of the iceberg lettuce when it comes to
the woes of Harrisburg politicians. In his annual budget address, Governor Rendell warned of the approaching “fiscal tsunami” facing Pennsylvania.
Rendell indicated that in fiscal year 2011-12, Pennsylvania will lose $2.3
billion that is currently coming from federal tax dollars. In fiscal year
2012 – 13, Pennsylvania faces a $5.6 billion shortfall in public employee
pension plan liabilities. Meanwhile, General Fund revenues for the 2009-10 fiscal year are $374 million below estimate.
“How can we trust politicians in the Capitol to effectively manage an
impending crisis when they can’t run their day-to-day household? asked LPPA Media Relations Chair, S. Douglas Leard. “Now they’re talking about taking even more money from our households to pay for theirs. All this points to the need for new leadership in Harrisburg who can run the state household as well as Pennsylvanians run theirs.”
According to the Commonwealth Foundation, since 2003 when Governor Rendell took office, “Pennsylvania’s burden of state and local taxes has increased from the 17th heaviest in the nation to the 11th. State spending has increased by $3600 per family of four (in inflation-adjusted dollars). State debt has increased by $18 billion to a whopping $41 billion – a 78 percent increase – or $5,600 per family of four.”
“If Pennsylvanians are interested in getting our Commonwealth cleaned up, I encourage them to enlist the aid of the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania.” remarked LPPA Chair Michael Robertson. “The Libertarian Party is dedicated to focusing on the rights of the individual and responsible, limited government. We need this focus if we are to get our legislative houses in order.”
The Libertarian Party is the third largest political party in Pennsylvania
and the United States . More than 200,000 people across the country are registered Libertarians, and Libertarians serve in hundreds of elected offices. Please visit www.LP.org or www.LPPA.org for more information.