Local Government TV

Monday, April 29, 2019

Gutless Lawmakers Divert Gas Tax for PSP

Pennsylvania has the highest gas tax in the nation, something you've likely noticed at the pump. Candidate Tom Wolf hated it, but Governor Tom Wolf is a cheerleader. He claims that this money is helping pay for repairs to the state's crumbling infrastructure. Except it isn't. Auditor General Eugene DePasquale has complained that this gas tax , which is supposed to be dedicated to fixing our damn roads, is being diverted to pay state police by the very lawmakers who insisted this money be used exclusively to make our highways and bridges safer.

State Rep.Bob Freeman has justified this illegal diversion because money is needed to pay for state police protection in municipalities with no law enforcement.

I've long maintained that any municipal government with no police protection should be dissolved. But who is it that is in effect forcing cash-strapped taxpayers in Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton to subsidize state police in the 'burbs? Why our state legislature, of course.

Career politicians like Freeman willfully violate their own law, and then have the balls to blame municipalities who use the state police for community policing.

Should such municipalities pay for the state police? Of course they should. But politicians would risk losing their cozy jobs if they required that. So, just let the problem fester while our roads and bridges deteriorate even further.

By the by, there are approximately 4,500 PA state troopers. They will receive $790 million from the Motor License Fund this year. That's $175,000 for every state trooper on the payroll! According to the PSP, half of those 4,500 troopers are assigned to municipalities that don't have a police force. That works out to $350,000 per trooper assigned to unpoliced municipalities.

45 comments:

  1. Bob, like the rest of Pennsylvania’s politicians, take care of themselves.
    It’s what they do.
    It’s their business.
    It’s job one.

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  2. Bob is still alive? Who knew?

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  3. I would fire everybody in management at PennDot . Drain the swamp and put “somebody’s name and phone number “ on every stretch of hyway. When the road gets as bad as 309 up north of here, everybody’s gets the axe . This is not new news.

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  4. You'll have to explain further how "gutless lawmakers" are diverting the gas tax.

    If the law (passed by the legislature and senate; signed by the Governor) says the money has to be exclusively used for roads and bridges, no "lawmaker" can divert it.

    Is the Executive (the Governor) not following the law? If so, where is the PA Attorney General?

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  5. On another note, why is the solution to every crisis du jour to raise taxes?

    That was the solution used to the "crumbling infrastructure" problem when our politicians raised the gas tax.

    Why isn't the solution ever to cut costs, like suspending prevailing wage requirements for all road/bridge projects in order to stretch the existing tax dollars further?

    If it's really a crisis, why wouldn't ALL solutions be implemented?

    It's likely because the "crisis" isn't really a crisis, it's just an excuse being used by "gutless lawmakers" to raise taxes.

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  6. Mike Schlossberg is my hero.
    He is a social media expert.

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  7. How about the pa turnpike fees that are being diverted to subsidize mass transit and other not turnpike related causes, that is far more oppressive than the state police, who do not provide protection to rural communities but report and investigate crime.

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  8. people must realize a vote for a dem means more taxes is coming

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  9. https://www.readingeagle.com/news/article/vaughn-spencers-former-political-consultant-gets-5-years-in-prison-for-pay-to-play-schemes

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  10. @ 6:11 - You are an asshole and an ignorant Fox noise simpleton to make that statement!

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  11. Anyone who's done business with PennDOT knows how frustrating it is. A lot of their problem is purchasing via PA DGS, who is more concerned with "vendor diversity" than getting the best goods and services at the best price. There are actually bid scoring points set aside for LGBTQ businesses! Who the eff conducts the "T" investigation and what are the evaluation criteria? It's politically correct craziness run amok. Our tax dollars are being used by idiots to pay for their idiotic social experiments.

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  12. 7:11 you stupid idiot your afraid to face the FACTS the dems love to tax and spend like fools and you radical left dems are so stupid you like for the dems to spend your money

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  13. @7:21 - Projects that include federal funds do NOT have an LGBTQ requirement. They have a Disadvantage Business Requirement which is based upon revenue of the firm and is used to help new, smaller firms get started.

    100% state funded projects have a diverse business requirement that encompasses MANY different types of firms. These include firms owned by minorities, women, veterans and, yes (GASP!), LGBTQ professionals. AGENCIES may establish minimum participation levels for a specific type of firm.

    Rest assured, if a diverse business of any stripe does not deliver on their tasks those firms will not be in business very long. It has NOTHING to do with any social experiment.

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  14. 6:11 so so true the dems tax and tax more 7:11 does not face reality the dems are like that

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  15. 6:11 is not an ass hole 7:11 is the true asshole and stupid

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  16. TRUMP WILL BEAT THE RADICAL LEFT BY A LANDSLIDE

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  17. How much debt has the grifter Trump added to our deficit? He was a life long Democrat until recently but his true ignorant self came to life as a republican!

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  18. If tax cheats like trump would only pay their fair share...

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  19. I won’t vote for a white man.

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  20. All the democratic politicians do is tax look at O'Connell or Armstrong in lehigh county also the governor first thing out of his mouth the other night in Bethlehem was tax the natural gas industry which employees a lot of people if he taxes the natural gas the tax will be passed on the the customer the dems can not figure this out wild will get into the act soon

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  21. But politicians would risk losing their cozy jobs if they required that. So, just let the problem fester while our roads and bridges deteriorate even further.

    They did this with the K12 state pension plan as well. They stopped paying in the modest amount needed in 2001 and never started funding it again until way later.

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  22. We are looking at you, LOWER MACUNGIE. Why pay when you can get it for free and your neighbors pay the bulk of it?

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  23. I don't think it's an apples-to-apples comparison with Lower Macungie and other municipalities without a police force.

    As another comment noted, state police respond to and investigate crimes. A local police force is constantly patrolling/protecting that municipality.

    No doubt there is a cost associated with it and it needs to be evaluated, but I wouldn't say it's the same service.

    And PSP is also active in places with their own police force.

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  24. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  25. Donny smallhands= worst president* ever!

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  26. Chris Casey 4/29/19 9:19 AM

    "Why pay when you can get it for free and your neighbors pay the bulk of it?"
    Lower Macungie residents would pay the same as their neighbors for the PSP, wouldn't they?

    The residents of municipalities with their own police department or are part of a regional police department pay for their police coverage. So, aren't residents of a municipality with their own police coverage paying twice already? Wouldn't they already be subsidizing PSP coverage for others?

    April 29, 2019 at 5:09 AM

    "Why isn't the solution ever to cut costs, like suspending prevailing wage requirements for all road/bridge projects in order to stretch the existing tax dollars further?"

    Just raising the prevailing wage to adjust to today’s pricing would be a great help to taxpayers. The existing threshold is too low and increases the cost of local municipal projects. In one example, the “emergency” repair went a little above the prevailing wage threshold and the cost of the project needed to be adjusted. That alone increased the cost about 20%. Of course, ultimately, this is passed on to the taxpayer. That’s just one example of many across Pennsylvania.

    Pennsylvania already funds the PSP. Does it need more money? I suppose, as does everything, seemingly. However, this is about fiscal (mis)management of our tax dollars. We should first address waste, fraud, abuse and fiscal mismanagement and take a look at the spending side before we look at increasing revenues.

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  27. 10,000 lies and counting...

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  28. "Rest assured, if a diverse business of any stripe does not deliver on their tasks those firms will not be in business very long. It has NOTHING to do with any social experiment."

    That's simply not true. Offending vendors are coddled and receive endless correction opportunities. The Diversity Police insert themselves into a fundamental business relationship between private entities to protect the social experiment. The Diversity Police will not be embarrassed by jettisoning one of their chosen winner. They'll never admit they're picking winners at taxpayers' expense. Here's an idea: run your shitty government your usual shitty government way, and don't pretend you know a fucking thing about business. There's a reason the state runs as poorly as it does and has companies and educated people running - not walking - out of it.

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  29. LGBTQ slides by as a protected class behind the cover of veterans. Using stolen valor. That's shameful.

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  30. Gas taxes should be raised by an additional $5/gallon. Think of the children!

    The tax could be used to pay for all kinds or great renewable energy projects, like that Archimedes Screw.

    We could call it the Screw Tax.

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  31. This protected class used as a cover to infect young minds. It's ok to get screwed in the ass, us LGBTQ consider another infectious tool. Personally it is as infectious as swimming in a cesspool, there are unknown deseise to come from this sexaul ill butt hell just keep the gaping up if it's your thing? I was thinking I may just hit hit her in the shitter tonight, not.

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  32. Them there fetuses should have been removed like the cancer they have become.

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  33. The State ineffect violated the .””Trustfund “that was set up with federal funds to fix roads and bridges and reverted the allocation to something else. Well they did same thing years ago with Constable money at was brought in and bought firearms subsidized by this fund for police departments rather than Constables , that buy their own. Impeachment is in order . And I sign my name.

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  34. Peter the constables are pretend police and often out of control wannabe cops. It is time to psychologically test them and only let courts appoint them.

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  35. Company I work for won a contract in philly. Contract requires a good faith best effort to use ~35% woman/minority owned business. We only came up with about 15%. The sub we are using just subbed out the work and marked up his price. Now we have to hire outside labor and not use our own workers. All said and done we have to start a fire and toss 150k on it for the privilege of working in the city of brotherly love. So one can set up a company in name only and get paid without ever getting off the couch.

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  36. Yes ,@anon 5:35 - some ,I looked at that job as a way to pay my mortgage off early. But, Constabulary does look for people ,cops go home off shift. There is a difference. No production no commission.

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  37. I would put Fred against anybody’s ability to find and capture. Period.

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  38. If your 12 year old daughter was taken away at a bus stop . Think about the horror you would go through.im tell n you that Fred would be the first guy I’d call. The state took the fruits of production from Constabulary and gave it it away to to another entirely different eninity.Just like your fuel taxes that are the highest in nation . Impeachment is in order. And I sign my name ,because I’m not afraid to retract my statement.

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  39. Doesn’t this qualify as fraud? If you take money saying it will be used one way and then disregard the law, it seems to me fraud come into play. Close enough to NJ that I can do my part to keep the money out of PA.

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  40. Ya ,buy gas in New Jersey? Worst yet for commuters. The blend is 15% ethanol many places. Your vehicle suffers from its use . Your mileage is compromised.that and speeding cost more than you have figured out ,commuting. I have a Chevy Equinox AWD on lease . It’s supposed to get 32 mpg on hyway . We just went to Camp LeJeune ,N.C. ViS - Chesapeake Bay Bridge down 17 . Did it on 13.8 gals at 527 miles into Jacksonville N.C . And only used 13 gals. On way back to Easton in rain . Why do I telll you this ? Because I run on non- ethanol fuel both ways . 42.5 Mpg in non- hybrid vehicle. The ethanol costs more and waist more than we know.

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    Replies
    1. Actually, good information that I appreciate having. I heard that a gas station by ABE sells pure gas, which is what it sounds like you recommend.

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  41. If your weed wacker or boat needs real fuel ,go to Ike’s the tellaphone pole just North of Sonoco station on North Airport Road .its a garage that people go to that older cars that are classic. They also fix high end stuff. . You can get racing fuel for you dragster,Evan airplane grade fuel.i fill up there and my vehicles go 100 miles more so I can do the math.Airport Road North about 1500 feet . of the West bound get off.

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  42. I get just over 26 MPG on same route described with Toyota Tacoma v-6 all the time .we are making same trip server all time a year. So what I claim is consistent mileage .

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  43. When you first fill or add the old mixture is still in the tank . But you run that down ,and get refilled the ethanol content becomes less and your fuel mileage will increase substantially. I just mixed my truck the other day and have 54 miles on it a the gauge just started to move off full.Add Marval Mistry Oil and pump tire pressure to 38 lbs and you see additional increases. Drive 3 miles an hour less than traffic flow for safety,the traffic will always be going away from you and you will increase fuel efficiency and safety.

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