May 6th, 2009

Today the Patriot-News editorialized that although they don’t agree with all the cuts proposed in the Senate Republicans budget, they do applaud them for laying out a detailed plan two months before the budget deadline.  Now that the GOP’s  initial counterproposal is on the table, the Patriot editors ask that the House, Senate and governor meet to decide what the level of revenue and spending will be before June 1 — that way they can complete a budget that is best for Pennsylvanians by June 30.

The Patriot editors explain what needs to happen on both sides to come to a sound compromise:

This will likely entail the governor agreeing to more decreases in the budget (he has already admitted he will have to identify a further $200 million in cuts from what he proposed in February), and Senate GOP members will likely have to agree to some revenue enhancement measures, notably a tax on smokeless tobacco and some sort of severance tax on Marcellus shale.

For all the jabs, both sides clearly agree that there should be no broad-based tax increases on individuals or businesses.

Leaders on both sides need to start from that common vantage point and begin to move toward compromise on the overall spending and revenue framework. Then they can attempt to hammer out differences in various programs.

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Meanwhile, the Williamsport Sun-Gazette also thinks that the best proposal for the state lies somewhere between the Gov’s plan and the Senate Republicans proposal.