Threat of State Park Closures “Ridiculous”

According to state Senator Mary Jo White, Gov. Rendell ordered every department secretary to issue press releases, blasting the Senate’s proposed budget and the “mean” cuts that would ensue. With regard to the list of state parks that could close, the senator has publicly said what many Pennsylvanians have already known: “this is just ridiculous.”

SB 850 will reduce funding for state parks by only 17 percent from 2008-09 and only 14 percent from the governor’s proposed budget. However, despite this relatively small reduction, John Quigley, acting secretary of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), continues to proclaim that up to 40 state parks will have to close due to lack of funding. That amounts to 34 percent of named state parks.

How does a 17 percent cut in funding close 34 percent of the state’s named parks?

In other words, acting secretary Quigley, like the Secretary of Tourism, deliberately misled the public with exaggerated claims of program cuts in order to vilify the Senate’s proposed budget. Of course, this would be a non-issue if the state simply privatized the state parks.

The Case for Privatizing State Parks

The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) announced they would have  to close at least 35 state-controlled parks due  under the proposed Senate budget plan. According to acting secretary, John Quigley, “Such closures would turn away more than 3 million park visitors and eliminate at least $57 million in recreation spending on products and services in communities around the closed parks.”

Instead, Pennsylvania should consider privatization of state parks.  Similar proposals exist in Michigan and Washington State.  Pennsylvania currently maintains and operates 117 parks across the state. Not only will privatization reduce taxpayer spending, but privatizing Pennsylvania’s state parks will provide a windfall profit from their lease or sale. The local communities will also benefit from property taxes on the newly privatized land.

Patrick Henderson, director of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, has also proposed increasing the amount of state park land open for natural gas drilling. In 2008, Pennsylvania received $190 million in leasing fees on 74,000 acres of state land. Governor Rendell’s proposed severance tax only anticipated drawing $106 million during the next fiscal year, without accounting for the companies that will leave the state due to higher-than-expected costs.

10 Ways to Balance the Budget Without Tax Hikes

Contrary to the Governor's rhetoric, there are a plethora of reforms and spending cuts that can balance the budget without firing our police, evicting our elderly, or dumbing down our kids. Below we offer our ten ways to balance the state budget, this year and the years to come, without raising taxes.

1. Eliminate corporate welfare. The Governor's latest General Fund budget contains over $410 million in corporate welfare.


2. Eliminate, privatize, or implement user fees for "private goods" - such as museums, parks, and the arts. The Governor's budget spends almost $500 million to maintain non-core functions of state government.
   


3. Control self-service government programs expenses like legislative leadership accounts used to fund illegal bonuses. A number of state programs and expenditures work to benefit of government official and the detriment of citizens. Rendell's revised General Fund budget about $200 million on self-benefiting expenses.
   


4. Reform Medicaid by giving individuals more control over their health care spending.


5. Limit the increase in basic and special education funding to 11.7%. This increase would give school districts their highest level of funding in Pennsylvania history. Over the past 25 years, per-pupil spending has increased 364% (inflation of 141%) while achievement has stagnated.


6. Repeal prevailing wage laws for government construction contracts. This unnecessary regulation inflates costs by 10-30% and increased the cost for state and local government by almost $9 billion in 2007.


7. Reform government pensions by moving from a defined benefit to a more predictable defined contribution plan.


8. Reduce advertising budgets for the state lottery ($32 million), tourism ($26 million) and the film tax credit ($576,000, which at $75 million, we should eliminate). Do we really need a groundhog on TV (and facebook) convincing us to gamble, or a psychedelic website to remind us that Feb. 2 is Groundhog Day?
   


9. Increase state spending transparency and accountability. Creating an online spending database, like HB 1460 would create savings, as demonstrated in other states, and will discourage the misuse of tax dollars in programs like WAMs.


10. Privatize state-run businesses, such as the state liquor stores. Competitively contracting out all Liquor Control Board operations could produce a one time influx of $1.7 billion, increase future revenues through corporate and property taxes, and provide better service to consumers.

Over 80 state lawmakers agree with us, saying YES WE CAN balance the budget without raising taxes. Find out what your legislator thinks.

The rest of our suggested spending cuts, totaling $5 billion, are detailed in Government on a Diet: Spending Tips 2009.

Pennsylvania Budget in Focus

The Commonwealth Foundation will be testifying on the state budget today. Here are some quick facts on the budget:

• PA Senate Budget by the Numbers
• Pennsylvania Deficit Watch: May 2009
• PA School Districts to Get 12% Increase in Support
• Pennsylvania Budget by Department Under Rendell
• The Horrors of Private Sponsorship?
• The Case for Privatizing State Parks
• Government on a Diet: Spending Tips 2009 (More examples of wasteful spending and budget facts can be found at PleaseNoMoreTaxes.org)
• More Pennsylvania budget resources can be found at SunshineReview.org.

Tomorrow will be further testimony, open to taxpayers. However, if you want to speak, you must be invited by calling Rep. Evans' office at 717-783-8024

Rendell's propaganda machine

Brad Bumsted's latest column wraps up some of the more absurd rhetoric coming from the Rendell administration about the Senate version of the Pennsylvania budget:

• The bill "threatens juvenile delinquency and crime prevention efforts," the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency said.
• It would "cripple production in agriculture," Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff said.
• Pennsylvania communities "face the prospect of dirtier water, weakened flood protection, and swarms of biting inspects that could potentially carry the deadly West Nile virus," the Department of Environmental Protection said.
• The bill "would wreak havoc on (the) veterans' home system," displace 300 veterans and "possibly" force closure of a veteran's home, the Pennsylvania National Guard warned. (Sen. Lisa Baker, a Republican, responded it was "completely out of line with the fiscal facts" and "needlessly alarmed veterans and their families.")
• SB 850 would "cripple the tourism industry," DCED said in a curtain call.
• It would lead to the closure of at least 35 state parks, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources said. ("Scare tactics," the GOP said.)
• The most sweeping indictment came from the Department of Health, warning the bill "threatens the health of millions of Pennsylvanians" by restricting or eliminating vital health care.
• And it would be "devastating" for school districts, students and taxpayers, Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak warned.

The Horrors of Private Sponsorship?

NBC Philadelphia reported that due to proposed budget cuts, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission may be forced to turn to private sponsorship in order to maintain such historic landmarks as Brandywine Battlefield Historic Site.

For most people, this wouldn’t cause a panic. So why was the article titled “Budget Deficit Could Kill History”? (emphasis added). The author satirically wrote of this private sponsorship future:

Fifteen thousand British troops fought George Washington’s Continental Army in 1777 during the Revolutionary War at Comcast Battlefield Park.

Hyperbole aside, when I was studying in Xiamen, China, I traveled to a nearby mangrove forest, one of the largest in the country. Traveling with members of the Mangrove Protection Project, we arrived at the beautifully maintained forest to see tastefully engraved on a rock by the entrance that the site’s preservation is funded by Wal-Mart.

Somehow, a country that maintained one of the most socialist economies in the world as recently as twenty years ago has surpassed Pennsylvania in willingness to allow private companies to fund previously government-funded operations. Do we really believe that responsible spending and private sponsorship will kill history?

Click here for a related post on privatizing state parks.