Why I rejected Gov. Wolf’s historic tax hikes
Dear Friends and Neighbors of Northeast Philadelphia, I am writing to thank you for the outpouring of support of my vote against Gov. Tom Wolf’s budget. Together, Democrats and Republicans voted unanimously (0–193) to reject the largest tax increase in the history of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Many people are living paycheck to paycheck and I will continue to stand up to those who are looking to siphon money from your wallet.
Wolf’s plan proposes taking more of your paycheck by increasing your state income tax by 21 percent bringing it to 3.7 percent.
Wolf’s plan taxes more goods and services that have never been taxed before, making your cost of living even higher. His way is to tax nursing home care and in-home care for seniors; diapers and day care services; college meal plans, fees and textbooks, and more.
The Pennsylvania Sales and Use Tax under his plan will be raised to 6.6 percent. In Philadelphia, we currently pay an 8 percent sales tax where the state takes 6 percent of it. With Wolf’s tax hikes our city’s share would drop from 2 percent to 1.4 percent.
The non-partisan Independent Fiscal Office determined that the plan would cause tax increases across all income levels. This includes working class families like ours who cannot afford to be taxed more to pay for the governor’s massive spending spree.
The governor’s spending plan includes an increase in spending of $5 billion in the first year and $8 billion in the second year, and only redistributes $3.6 billion back to local property tax owners and renters.
I will continue to support budget options that are respectful of your hard-earned dollars, which is why I, along with my colleagues in the House of Representatives and the Senate, passed a responsible budget that was balanced, didn’t take an extra cent out of your pocket and increased education spending to record highs all while meeting our constitutional requirement to pass a budget by June 30.
Unfortunately, Gov. Wolf vetoed this plan. In my opinion, he did so because he has yet to come to the realization taxpayers are not his employees. He has yet to understand that he is not your CEO and that you do not work for him…he works for you.
Martina White
State Representative, PA-170
Slow down and stop
A red traffic light means stop.
A red stop sign means the same thing…. stop!
My question is why is the four-way stop sign at the corners of Cromwell and Calera roads an exception to that rule?
There is a four-way stop sign at this corner that no one seems to want to stop at. Are drivers in that much of a hurry to get to the Acme supermarket? I bet if there was a police officer posted at that corner, they wouldn’t be in such of a rush. I could also guarantee that the City of Philadelphia could accrue a lot of money in moving violations.
For years I have watched cars driving extremely fast past my house at speeds of up to and beyond 40 to 50 miles-per-hour approaching the stop sign only to roll through it therefore putting the lives of my grandson and his friends in danger as they play outside.
Schools have let out for the summer and there will me more children out at play. So remember as you speed down a residential street, the child you run over may be your own. Please slow down and obey the traffic signs already in place.
Anthony E. Antonelli
Torresdale
Improving Max Myers
Do you care about your neighborhood? I’m talking about things like safety, landlord tenant questions, quality of life issues and programs for the kids.
Jared Solomon started your local community group, Take Back Your Neighborhood, to address these issues because he cares deeply about the neighborhood in which he grew up. He’s passionate, concerned and active in bringing attention and action to the things we all care about. Can you imagine that Max Myers Rec Center has not been improved since it was built in the 1950s? Well, that’s about to change since Jared got Councilwoman Sanchez and Councilman Henon involved. They are directing thousands of dollars to improve the center and make it a place all of us want to visit. Others in our community talk about good intentions. Jared is makes them a reality.
Pamela Baranackie
Castor Gardens
