November 21, 2024
Michael Sauers
Why is it that I always feel I’m being played whenever I listen to Governor Shapiro, especially when I’m in the same room? In studying his record I find him to be a calculating and ambitious planner. While in any office he has always intimated a goal of higher office. He has had a plan for a long time to work up the political ladder with the Presidency as the ultimate goal.
I have had a political life. My father was an astute political organizer and communicator in Luzerne, Carbon and Schuylkill Counties of NEPA. He brought his children along and we observed and learned. We had opportunities to observe and speak with politicians ranging from local councils to US Senators. As a result I know the talk and I know the walk.
I have come to certain conclusions about Governor Shapiro. They are based on what he has said, what he has not said and how he words things. I really didn’t pay very much attention to him until he ran for Governor. I attended a rally sponsored by the Columbia County Democratic Party. He came and spoke for approximately 15 minutes. I felt like he was speaking to the Chamber of Commerce or the PA Manufacturer’s Association and not a room of grassroots political operatives. What disappointed me most was his complete neglect of environmental issues. I approached him afterwards and pointed out his omission. He said he was not aware of that. Our conversation ended. There was no talk of climate change, energy production, sustainable development, etc. I was disappointed.
He won. As part of a statewide environmental coalition I had hope. My hopes were dashed when Governor Shapiro and his administration refused to talk with the coalition. After many attempts, including one that ended in the arrest of three citizens attempting to deliver a petition, the coalition resigned itself to the cold shoulder. Many letters, petitions, attempts to lobby later nothing has changed. He simply ignores the Better Path Coalition.
Meanwhile, the Governor is talking with oil and gas interests. He has entered into a collaboration arrangement with CNX oil and gas. The fox is guarding the hen house. CNX will voluntarily supply monitoring data to the State. This is a company that has amassed more than one thousand environmental violations since it began operating. Governor Shapiro is giving CNX’s CEO, Nicholas J. DeIuliis, a chance to present industry information that refutes studies from the University of Pittsburg and the PA Department of Health. This is outrageous. Shapiro purports to be listening and protecting the environmental rights of citizens BUT HE IGNORES A SEGMENT OF THE CITIZENRY.
Additionally, I find the Shapiro Administration’s continuation of corporate welfare to be business as usual. He is no different than Wolf, Corbett, Rendell, Ridge, etc. He asserts that his plan is different but it is tantamount to rearranging candles on a birthday cake. In the end the cake gets eaten. For example, the Shapiro Administration is currently touting a plan to spend $500 million taxpayer dollars on site development for potential businesses. To avoid the unseemly practice of direct grant payments to businesses, the money goes to Redevelopment Organizations or Economic Development groups. They are mere fronts for business. There are a slew of direct payment grant programs, low or no interest loans, tax deferred or cancelled programs in existence. The Delaware Loophole, KOZ’s, NIZ’s are alive and well. I’m most familiar with CAN-DO in the Greater Hazleton Area.
Money goes to those who already have significant resources for development. It is never enough. It all starts with LERTA, a tax abatement program created by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1977 authorizing local taxing authorities to provide tax exemptions to businesses/corporations. It just builds from there. Entities with money get more money. Now, that loss of tax revenue, from top to bottom, has to be made up by taxpayers or through reduced services.
The aforementioned geniuses, including Mr. Shapiro, allowed almost every other aspect of government responsibility to falter. For example, the federal government had to drag Pennsylvania, kicking and screaming, to finally upgrade their sewage /water treatment plants and attempt to mitigate their agricultural runoff. They were severely polluting Pennsylvania waterways including lakes, streams, creeks and rivers. This pollution eventually made its way to the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay. Pennsylvania lagged and still does lag in its efforts to comply with numerous EPA mandates and legal actions.
Another example is the decades long struggle to adequately fund public education. I became a teacher in 1972 and it was an issue then as well as now (52 years). The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled in February of 2023 that the Pennsylvania school funding system was/is unconstitutional. Now, did Governor Shapiro, who likes to say HE IS GETTING THINGS DONE FOR THE GOOD PEOPLE OF PENNSYLVANIA, fix the problem? No, he did not. The money was there. The State of Pennsylvania had an approximate $14 billion surplus. Adequacy would have meant a $5 to 5.5 billion outlay. Instead, the legislature and the Governor agreed to a 7 YEAR PLAN and even then adequacy will not be reached. Disgraceful! 7 more years of cheating students. THESE PEOPLE LIKE TO PAINT THEMSELVES AS BEING SMART AND COURAGEOUS. I’m not seeing that.
At a recent public relations event held in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, the Governor announced a Pennsylvania Permit Fast Track Program to streamline the Commonwealth’s permitting process for critical economic development and infrastructure projects. This change, as well as regulation reduction, are long sought after by developers and industry. Cutting through red tape, streamlining and fast-tracking are key elements of this new program. Unfortunately, this does not help neighborhoods and communities identify, study, understand and make decisions about proposed projects. Citizen groups are already handicapped by the system and this program will make it worse. There is no money appropriated for community involvement, whether positive or negative. You see, industries and government are flush with experts and public relations people. Citizen groups have to sell cookies and beg for funds. It is grossly unfair and the Governor knows it.
The bottom line for me is that I find it most disturbing when I hear the Governor talk about how his initiatives are looking out for workers, students, businesses, elderly, etc. I say that is disingenuous malarky. It’s a sham. It’s a ploy. HE IS LOOKING OUT FOR HIMSELF AND HIS PRESIDENTIAL AMBITIONS.
Enough for now. In the near future I will add my thoughts regarding the Governor and the Palestinians. Please stay tuned.