Government Creating Jobs Not Private Sector

The Pennsylvania Independent features a great chart in this article demonstrating the need to reduce the size of government in Pennsylvania. The normal laws that apply to economic cycles is void in government. During this recession, the worst we have witnessed since the Great Depression, many jobs were lost. It's only natural that revenue to states would decrease as well.

As the chart depicts state jobs have not only been spared but increased in Pennsylvania while private sector jobs have plummeted.




During the two years from September 2007 until September 2009 - a range stretching from a few months before the national recession hit until the most recent data available - the ranks of state government employees grew by nearly four percent. In the same time frame, the number of private sector workers in Pennsylvania, the ones who have to pay for the public sector employees salaries and benefits with their tax dollars, has dropped by more than four percent.

In real numbers, public sector employment grew by more than 4,500 jobs during those two years, while private sector employment fell by 242,000, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In the past SOP has featured posts about the dubious PennDOT 35 crew and the ridiculous statements made by chief propaganda meister Brett Marcy . "We have worked hard to trim costs and find ways to improve efficiencies," said Brett Marcy, press secretary to House Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne.

Apparently people don't like the truth, but I do like it; I like it because it upsets a lot of people. If you show them enough times that their arguments are bullshit, then maybe just once, one of them will say, 'Oh! Wait a minute - I was wrong.' I live for that happening. Rare, I assure you.- Lemmy Kilmister

PennDOT 35 Person Unit Criticized By Grand Jury To Be Disbanded

The Legal Intelligencer is reporting that Gov. Ed Rendell is disbanding a special unit of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation that a grand jury said exists only to expedite paperwork for legislators seeking to win favor with voters.

The panel that investigated the state legislative corruption scandal criticized the 35-person unit in a scathing assessment of the Legislature released this week.

Rendell spokesman Gary Tuma said Wednesday that the unit will be disbanded in the next few days and the employees reassigned elsewhere in PennDOT. However, he says they'll continue to help legislators with constituent requests.

The report also says the House Democratic and Republican caucuses employ — at a cost of nearly $900,000 a year — dozens of people to expedite processing of mostly routine PennDOT paperwork for businesses and other constituents.

Here are Brett Marcy two statements in the past week.

"We have worked hard to trim costs and find ways to improve efficiencies," said Brett Marcy, press secretary to House Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne.

On the grand jury report:

House Democratic spokesman Brett Marcy was critical of the report, saying it "seems to be based largely on the past and incorrect assumptions about the legislative process, rather than an accurate reflection of today's legislative operation."

Brett, now let me get this straight. Governor Rendell is disbanding a crew of 35 who serve the only purpose to expedite paperwork for legislators seeking to win favor with voters and you said what about the accurate reflection of the legislative operation?  On top of that the House Dems and the Republican caucuses are wasting another $900,000.00!! What a buffoon. Hanging around with Kanjorski teaches you how to stretch the facts.

PA Illegal Driver's License Ring Exposed

KYW Newsradio out of Philadelphia is reporting that 20 people have been charged so far in a federal sweep of an illegal operation where PennDot workers were bribed to obtain licenses for illegal aliens, foreign nationals, and others who did not qualify.

The scheme has been going on for OVER 17 YEARS with cusotmers paying up to $4,000.00 for the fake IDs.

Immigration and Customs special agent John Kelleghan says that here in Philly, several corrupt Penndot examiners were bought off.

"These employees worked out deals with corrupt driving school instructors and document vendors-- people who trade in fraudulent and false identification to sell authentic driver's licenses and ID cards."

Penndot's Kurt Myers says all three workers have been fired, and the agency is taking a long, hard look at the branches that are vulnerable to corruption:

"We are certainly putting processes and procedures in, not only to address what occurred in this instance but also looking proactively for ways to improve our processes."

So how much did Pennsylvanians pay for Medicaid, etc. because of these fake IDs???

Gov. Rendell To Discuss I-80 In Press Conference

Rep. Joseph Markosek
The Times Leader is reporting that Governor Rendell has called a press conference for this afternoon on Interstate 80. He was looking for federal approval to collect $450 million from proposed tolls on I-80 to fund road improvements throughout the Commonwealth. He complicated those efforts with this announcement back in January that tolls would go to transit agencies all over the state while federal law limits applying collected tolls only to the I-80 corridor. He probably skipped that law class.

Take a look at the turnpike budget from 2008-2009 that posts actuals for 2007-2008. Net operating income was $347.9 million. Operating expenditures were $237.7 million. It seems that if the corrupt Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission were dismantled and tolls were modestly increased Rendell wouldn't have to apply to the feds for permission to toll. Imagine reducing the size of government including future pension payments and solving highway funding. It makes too much sense so forget it was suggested.

Let's hear from the western part of the state. WDUQ News is reporting that Democratic State Representative Joe Markosek of Monroeville, chair of the State House Transportation Committee, feels those opposed to tolling I-80 are wrong because 60% of the state's operating funds come from the 5 Philadelphia area counties and Allegheny County.

Markosek says those who are disappointed and "those who are perhaps euphoric" by the rejection need to work hand in hand to develop a sustainable funding mechanism for Pennsylvania's transportation infrastructure system, and "most of the options are not pain-free

The Commonwealth is wasting taxpayer dollars on this website about Act 44.

The decision by the feds is the third rejection of proposed tolling of I-80. It is time to find a reasonable solution. Start by abolishing the embattled and patronage ladened Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. Absorb the employees into PennDOT and get rid of overpaid an dulicate management positions. Synergize operations and leverage larger buying power. Markosek is a Democrat. He would never accept that proposition. Of course what would one expect when the person in charge of the committee has a B.A. What real qualifications does Markosek possess to decide how transportation funding can really be accomplished?

These are his Co-Sponsorship Memoranda.
03-29-2010 Markosek, Joseph F. Protect Senior Citizens from Improper Producer Designations
06-03-2009 Markosek, Joseph F. Special Permits for Excessive Size and Weight
05-22-2009 Markosek, Joseph F. Resolution Recognizing AARP
03-16-2009 Markosek, Joseph F. Primary Safety Belts
02-04-2009 Markosek, Joseph F. Phishing
02-03-2009 Markosek, Joseph F. Phishing
12-17-2008 Markosek, Joseph F. DUI Related Hit and Runs

Joe, how about transportation?

Pennsylvania Turnpike Corruption Allegations

Can you imagine that a former finance manager of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission would accuse its chiefs or corruption and waste in a lawsuit?

Major focus of the law suit is an apparently rigged procurement and poor performance of CIBER, information technology (IT) consultants out of the Denver area hired at a cost of $82m (to date) to implement a major computer software package called Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) from the leading German software company SAP.

CIBER's Turnpike boss made campaign contributions during the period of their consultancy to former Pennsylvania state senator Vincent Fumo, currently serving a jail sentence after a conviction in US Court in Philadelphia for corruption.

Last year Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell fired Turnpike Commission chairman Mitchell Rubin after the feds said he was the subject of a criminal inquiry. Rubin's wife, Ruth Arnao, an aide to Fumo was convicted along with the former senator on some 40 counts of thievery.


$82 MILLION!!!

For a couple of years there has been press on the wasteless need for the PA Turnpike Commission. Talk in Harrisburg centered on consolidating the Commission, long labled as a political parking lot for oblilgated appointments, into the Department of Transportation.

To compare, PennDOT is run by seven executives and manages more than 41,000 miles of roadway. That equals one executive for every 5,857 miles of state roadway. The Turnpike Commission is run by nine executives and is in charge of 545 miles of roadway. That equals one executive for every 60 miles of roadway on the turnpike. Also, PennDOT uses internal staff to act as government liaisons with the General Assembly, whereas the Turnpike Commission hires contract lobbyists at significant cost.

A Road to Savings: Abolish the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission from the Commonwealth Foundation

Instead of saving Pennsylvania taxpayers money through measures like abolishing the Turnpike Commission and consolidating its operations with PennDOT, Todd Eachus and the PA legislature decided to take away contractor fees charged by local municipalities and keep them for the state.

It's a bitch when you claim to be the leadership but don't know how to lead.

This Legislature refuses to accept its fiduciary responsibility by continually being a cash eating cow. In this case the PA Legislature is taking the bucks from municipalities to cover our lawmakers' cash eating tracks. Municipalities need to make up that shortfall by taxing its residents so the real reason doesn't look like Harrisburg suffers from "sick legislature syndrome".

In Pennsylvania, for example, the Senate shut down for much of 1993 because the result of a single special election threatened the razor-thin Democratic numerical advantage. Few were surprised by this tactic: The previous year, Republicans had pulled a similar stunt for fear one of their own would switch party allegiance. It is the cutthroat competition for control in a close partisan situation that explains why, during the past decade in Pennsylvania, ethically tainted members from both sides of the aisle have routinely escaped discipline.

Guess they hadn't planned on someone like AG Tom Corbett to come along and call their ass on tainted ethics.