tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post6256135665074543773..comments2024-03-29T09:51:12.266-04:00Comments on Lehigh Valley Ramblings: DA to NorCo Exec Brown: Why Not Suspend Easton Commuter Tax?Bernie O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-17962972399383301972014-10-01T21:36:38.809-04:002014-10-01T21:36:38.809-04:00First, he put no manners on the bulldog. You'r...First, he put no manners on the bulldog. You're nuts to think that. Second, he's just not very good. I'm used to NorCo and Lehigh judges, who are pretty sharp. He's just not at their level. Nice enough guy, and he may be right in a bigger sense, but I have little confidence in his legal reasoning. But then again, I'm a suspended lawyer, so who cares? Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-57439320708689302712014-10-01T21:26:54.369-04:002014-10-01T21:26:54.369-04:00What's wrong with J. Braxton other than the fa...What's wrong with J. Braxton other than the fact that he put a set of manners on your idol?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-67449779662287951152014-10-01T20:05:54.506-04:002014-10-01T20:05:54.506-04:00Is it a coincidence that Panto announced an increa...Is it a coincidence that Panto announced an <i>increase</i> in Easton's version of this tax today? It is incredibly bad timing to throw caution to the wind and go for it IMO.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-11961209599059959822014-10-01T20:00:32.972-04:002014-10-01T20:00:32.972-04:00Doesn't Allentown impose the same tax on commu...Doesn't Allentown impose the same tax on commuters?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-76259542508427308692014-10-01T19:13:14.858-04:002014-10-01T19:13:14.858-04:00I hate county workers and anybody who runs from my...I hate county workers and anybody who runs from my increasingly violent hell hole - especially Forks Township clowns. Pay up and shut up. We got a new trolley, assholes. You got one of them in Forks or Bethlehem Township? I didn't think so. Southside 4-evah yo. Go Red Rovers. Woot woot.Sal Panto In Privatenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-31507556345521854462014-10-01T18:49:50.391-04:002014-10-01T18:49:50.391-04:00The tax was not challenged, but look at who our So...The tax was not challenged, but look at who our Solicitor was at the time. It should be challenged. There is something uniquely un-American about forcing persons to pay a tax, yet giving them no say in the government. We fought a war over that, remember? Though the ruling from Lackawanna County is not binding, and there are differences between Scranton and Easton, there are enough similarities to take a shot at overturning it. <br /><br />Also, aside from legalities, a commuter tax is just an incredibly dumb idea. I was at a symposium on local government at Lehigh last week. Lots of people from Lehigh County were there, but NOT ONE NorCo Council member, not one Easton City Council member, and certainly no Sal Panto. He was probably busy, washing and waxing mark Mulligan's car.<br /><br />Had he been there, he would have seen the results of a study done by Dr. Robert Inman, an economist at the Eharton School. Wage taxes and commuter taxes DRIVE JOBS AND BUSINESS OUT OF THE CITY. In fact, Philly is currently reducing its rates, and in the next three years, Inman projects there will be 8.375 new jobs in the City. <br /><br />Panto is using a tool that will just drive Easton into more financial distress. The tax should be repealed completely, certainly not increased. Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-17114437704248024262014-10-01T18:35:15.907-04:002014-10-01T18:35:15.907-04:00Wait a second, County council voted to condemn th...Wait a second, County council voted to condemn the tax. Let's see. They all had to pay the tax, and they could not figure out that they could hire a lawyer to challenge the tax. Of course, the judges would have to recuse themselves because they had to pay the tax also. But who needs the judges anyway when Potter County's bench can establish a precedent in Northampton County.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-48807479721125214022014-10-01T18:00:42.181-04:002014-10-01T18:00:42.181-04:00The E-T is reporting he's going to increase th...The E-T is reporting he's going to increase the commuter tax. Panto to county workers: "Fuck You."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-36216240964602882002014-10-01T17:32:55.352-04:002014-10-01T17:32:55.352-04:00It isn't just county workers that are affected...It isn't just county workers that are affected by this tax. EVERY non-resident who works in the city of Easton was taxed without representation.<br /><br />I'm glad it was struck down somewhere. Otherwise, every city, township, or borough would keep increasing or institute this "commuter" tax to make up for its own shortfalls and lack of spending control.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-82892510263934247412014-10-01T17:26:16.519-04:002014-10-01T17:26:16.519-04:00You have a basic misunderstanding of the judicial ...You have a basic misunderstanding of the judicial system. No judge has the authority to reach out on his own and invalidate a law. Also, no lawyer can file a challenge without a client.. <br /><br />You also have your facts wrong. I'm no Braxton fan, but Angle never called him senile. He got stuck with Braxton for calling another judge senile.Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-66737311212595313472014-10-01T17:02:58.570-04:002014-10-01T17:02:58.570-04:00That would be the ideaThat would be the ideaBernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-65675527130183190972014-10-01T17:00:11.967-04:002014-10-01T17:00:11.967-04:00So will County employees get to recoup the money t...So will County employees get to recoup the money that was taken out of their pay for commuter taxes?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-80416602754120557942014-10-01T16:21:56.426-04:002014-10-01T16:21:56.426-04:00Morganelli and you are 100% correct on this. The ...Morganelli and you are 100% correct on this. The previous commenter makes a good point about the lack of the previous council's guts to sue Panto when he first signed his tax.<br /><br />Panto gives his budget address in a couple of hours. maybe he'll sack up, apologize, and eliminate the tax. Then again, that would be like Easton without daytime gunfire: not going to happen.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-71090567995125779042014-10-01T16:08:00.823-04:002014-10-01T16:08:00.823-04:00woe is me, the poor county workerswoe is me, the poor county workersAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-60838355543552990422014-10-01T15:42:33.146-04:002014-10-01T15:42:33.146-04:00a proposed slap in the face to our bar and judicia...a proposed slap in the face to our bar and judiciary. If all those elected had challenged this in local court our judges could have decided the merit. But let Lackawanna court or some senior judge make the determination. Says a lot about our lawyers and judiciary. By the way, you wrote about Braxton before, after Ron Angle called him senile and after the superior court had to intervene on one of his decisions. Maybe they will intervene on this one. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com