Corbett's Cuts

New Governor Tom Corbett has finally released his first budget, aptly summarized by the Philly Inquirer.  Nothing unexpected.  A quick initial reading revealed some of the usual gimmickry, such as combining special funds into the general fund in order to close the deficit.  The Marcellus Shale was unsurprisingly left untaxed, our radioactive water notwithstanding (to be fair, the Department of Environmental Protection has weighed in to exonerate itself).  Basic education and higher education took the largest hits, as had already been expected.

While it is easy for me to get tangled in weeds of my own state's policies, it is important not to lose sight of the larger national context.  What we are witnessing in every state that saw drastic GOP takeovers in the last election is a total assault on liberal interests, liberal policies and liberal constituencies.  More importantly, we're watching what I would call an unprecedented assault, at least in recent times, on the middle class.  Whether it is Governor Snyder of Michigan proposing a new tax on retiree pensions to fund a business tax cut or the fact that GOP governors everywhere are suggesting deep cuts to education and medical programs while refusing to increase any taxes, it is clear that the priority of the ascendant Republican party is politics, not budget deficits.