Beer and Pennsylvania- Now We're More Like Ohio!

One of the amazing things that I realized when I was moving around the country in 2008 on the Presidential trail was that not every state had liquor laws like Pennsylvania. When I was in Ohio, and would get gas at the end of the night, I could also buy a six-pack of beer. A few years later in New York state, working a local race, the six pack buy was a ritual at night. When I would come home to Pennsylvania at the end of these places though, I had to go to a beer distributor. Pennsylvania didn't allow six packs to be sold at gas stations and convenience stores. The result was much more restrictive sales, obviously.

That has now ended. If there was one, and only one area in which I aspired for Pennsylvania to be like Ohio, it was this. Now I don't want to see the distributors go out of business, but I do like the idea of six pack sales in convenience stores. I think it's good policy, as it will create more sales and more tax revenue. It also allows the opportunity to sell more licenses. I also like it as a consumer. I can buy a six pack when I want now, and not just in "regular business hours." The Governor's office sums up my highest hopes here:

“Governor Wolf has requested a policy change at thePennsylvania Liquor Control Board to free the six-pack and allow for gas stations to sell six-packs of beer as long as they regularly and customarily prepare and sell food, have a serving area of not less than 300 square feet, and are equipped with tables and chairs accommodating at least 30 persons at one time,” Wolf’s spokesman Jeff Sheridan wrote in a separate post.

“Creating and following this precedent will make the commonwealth more inviting for customers and businesses, and it will address a long standing failing of our liquor and alcohol system,” he concludes. “Soon, it will be easier than ever to stop by your local Sheetz, Wawa or Rutters and to grab your favorite brews! It’s time to free the six-pack, Pennsylvania.”

Now, to be clear- I do not support selling the state liquor stores. I do support this though. This is more convenient for consumers. I also support the increased revenue for the state. As for the beer distributors, who will face increased competition, this could be an issue. My thought there is that they can and will compete if they are willing to improve their selection, be more flexible with their hours, and compete price-wise as well. I don't think this is a death sentence. I think this is market capitalism at it's finest. We heard similar cries of how this would kill distributors when super-markets got the licenses to sell beer too. It never happened, at least not in my neighborhood.

I already love my Wawa and Sheetz (in that order), but now i'll love them even more. At the end of a long day's work, I can grab a hoagie and a six pack and go home, in one foul swoop. Count me in. I think this is a positive policy change for consumers in Pennsylvania.

I Support the Governor Using His Veto Pen

I don't know any better than you all do what the Governor will decide to do with the GOP passed budget. For those of you who haven't followed Pennsylvania's budget fight closely, it's six months late, and a GOP driven stunt put a bill on his desk that doesn't meet any of his principles put forward in his 2014 electoral victory. The current GOP budget bill reaching Governor Wolf:

• Does not adequately address our school funding in Pennsylvania. It leaves in place a system that leaves kids in poor communities behind, and doesn't help many other kids get ahead either.
• Does not address our pension system, either with a bulk payment, real systemic changes that protect the workers and the taxpayers, or protect our cities and municipalities from feeling a crunch.
• Does not address rising property taxes, or the crunch they put on seniors with fixed incomes.
• Does not fairly and adequately tax natural gas drillers and their huge profits.

And that's just to name a few.

A lot of people voted for Governor Tom Wolf in 2014. A lot of people had expectations of what he would do as governor of this commonwealth. The Republicans in the legislature seem intent on pretending that he was not ever elected governor, because they don't agree with him. They refuse to acknowledge any of his plans and demands in the budget process, pretending that the legislature is the only portion of our government that matters. A few rebels in the legislature, lead by Senator Wagner and Speaker Turzai, are demanding their way on no new taxes and complete privatization of the liquor stores. They are demanding the governor completely give in to their demands.

Governor Wolf has waited six months already, and the pain being felt in Pennsylvania is real. It would be less painful for many people if he signed the budget, or parts of it, for the short term. If he chooses to do that, I will respect that his judgment told him putting people through pain over the childish objections of legislators who care about no one but themselves was just not worth it. With that said, I hope he vetoes this terrible budget. The legislative leaders and the Governor had a framework in place for a $30.8 billion deal in which everyone made concessions. Speaker Turzai and Wagner-backed extremists on the Senate side refused to take "yes" for an answer. If you're willing to hold out for six months for the future of Pennsylvania's children, it's worth fighting for as long as it takes to make these bullies relent.

I hope the Governor vetoes this bad budget. I hope the Republicans come back to the compromise budget deal. I hope people are not hurt by their childish behavior.

I'm Proud that Governor Tom Wolf is My Governor, and Greg Abbott is Not.

Earlier today, Texas, Michigan, and Alabama's Republican Governors announced they will not accept Syrian refugees into their states. Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz said we should only accept the Christians. Donald Trump thinks taking any refugees is crazy. Texas Governor Greg Abbott even took time to write a letter to the President asking him to take no refugees into the United States right now, for fear of a Paris style attack. Let me remind you, none of the attackers were refugees at all, and the "passport" on one of their dead bodies was planted there after being purchased in Turkey.

I'm proud to state that my Governor, Pennsylvania's Governor, is taking the opposite position of these shameful men. Governor Tom Wolf says refugees are welcome in Pennsylvania, and he will continue to work with the federal government to take in refugees. He is making the moral, humane decision, one that I am proud to live with into our future.

ISIS wants you to hate the refugees, to blame them for the attacks on Paris, and to subject them to harsh new scrutiny that makes life in the West too difficult for them to bare. ISIS wants a clash of civilizations. Let's not lose sight of reality:

The very same refugees entering Europe are often the very same civilians who face the indiscriminate violence and cruel injustice in lands controlled by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (though, it should be noted, many in Syria are also threatened by the brutal actions of the Syrian government). Globally, studies have shown that Muslims tend to make up the largest proportion of terror victims, with countries such as Syria and Iraq registering the highest toll.

If Muslim refugees come to Europe and are welcomed, it deeply undercuts the Islamic State's legitimacy. Aaron Zelin, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, has helpfully catalogued some of the Islamic State's messages on the refugees pouring into Europe from the Middle East. The messages give the impression of deep discomfort and even jealousy that the Muslim population the Islamic State so covets for its self-proclaimed "caliphate" would rather live in "infidel" Western lands.

“Would You Exchange What Is Better For What Is Less?" is the title of one video message. It sounds more than a little like a note from a jilted ex.

Indeed, we must stand with the refugees, and discredit ISIS. I'm proud of Governor Wolf, my Governor. I'm glad I don't have to call Greg Abbott my Governor. 

Pennsylvania Budget Deal Looks Good, Leaves Some Room for Improvement

So there is a framework for a state budget, apparently agreed on.

* The sales tax would be raised to 7.25 percent, generating about $2 billion to be used to create a new fund for property tax cuts. All the money raised from the higher sales tax levy would be restricted to that purpose.

* Taxes collected from the state's 12 casinos that now go for property tax reductions - $616 million in fiscal 2014 - would be re-purposed to help pay the state's ballooning pension system contributions.

* That shift of the slots money, in turn, would free up dollars in the state's general fund that could be used for increases in state aid to public schools, public universities and other needs.

Wolf administration sources noted Monday they've received commitments from GOP leaders that control commanding majorities in the state House and Senateto increase the main state aid line to public schools by $350 million this year,plus another $50 million in additional funding for special education.

Wolf had initially asked for $520 million in new funding for those lines; the GOP-drafted budget that the governor vetoed contained about $110 million. The new package is $400 million, with the promise of another round of increases in 2016-17, administration sources said. 

First off, good job by Governor Wolf. He absolutely had to get education money, and he got it. He also got help for the pension system and seniors being crushed by property taxes. He did have to let the Republicans off the hook on the severance tax on natural gas, which is ridiculous, but that's the price he had to pay. The bottom line is that the budget makes good on his promises to Pennsylvania, even if that issue gets kicked down the road. He did well here. Legislative Democrats should vote for this deal. He didn't give in on liquor stores, or killing pensions, and they didn't cave on taxing the drillers. Yet, the people who needed help now got it.

Next year is a critical election year. More Republican gains in the legislature, which could happen under the gerrymandered map we have, would embolden them to push for a better deal in the future. The agreement we got here is a fair one, but it could be improved upon, quite frankly. Bringing our taxation on gas drilling up from the 1% impact fee to a level that at least matches places like Alaska and Texas would allow the state more room to breathe. Democrats should help pass this budget, and then take their case to the people for future budgets.