Those who do not learn from history ...
Deb Erdley has an article in the Tribune Review about the increasing taxpayer cost for the Pittsburgh Penguins arena, as well as details on the $1.5 billion in borrowed money spent on "economic revitalization" under Governor Rendell.
Despite all this "economic development", Pennsylvania continues to lag the nation in economic growth, ranks poorly in state economic rankings, and is losing residents to other states.
There is a lesson in all this - so-called economic development/infrastructure spending is no economic stimulus. Unfortunately, this is not a lesson Governor Rendell has learned. He refuses to cut pork-barrel spending, even in the wake of a state deficit, and is pushing for the federal government to bail-out the state, wasting more taxpayer funding on these failed programs.
1 comment:
Unfortunately, these "economic development" boondoggles didn't begin under Rendell, but his administration is certainly taking them to new heights.
Of course, we're begging the issue that if all our tax money weren't flowing to Harrisburg, Pittsburgh might be able to build a new stadium on its own. Just a thought...
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