Written by State Rep. Melissa Shusterman
For too long, state budget debates have focused on the politically manufactured conflict between urban/suburban counties and rural counties. Our commonwealth’s urban/suburban counties churn out the tax revenue keeping our state’s coffers full, while rural counties’ vast roads and state-funded police consume more state tax dollars than they contribute. This conflict too often results in deprioritizing our suburban and urban counties and a viewpoint that funding them is a “handout”. The accurate truth is that this funding is an investment in the economic engine that drives our state forward.
While Republicans in the state Senate want to strangle our commonwealth’s economy over decades-old political grievances, I’m proposing a new way forward to bypass that conflict and satisfy both Republican and Democratic interests: legislation to reduce the constant funding disparities and allow Pennsylvanians to see the direct impacts of their hard-earned tax dollars.
My plan would establish indexed categories of counties for state tax collection and funding. Each of the three economic categories would keep its share of collected taxes to fund essential line items that are currently appropriated through the state budget, such as schools, law enforcement, parks and recreational areas, and transportation infrastructure.
Numbers don’t lie—for years, it has been clear that our economic-engine counties have consistently funded the rest of the state. We in southeastern Pennsylvania (SE PA) have been content in, and even proud of, that role. The “Category A” counties in my proposal, like those in SE PA, collectively contribute over 81% of the commonwealth’s personal income tax revenue and hold nearly 75% of the state’s population.
Now, state Senate Republicans are choosing to block our region from accessing the tax dollars that we produce, and need. If they’d rather play politics than do their jobs, SE PA must be able to fund our local priorities such as mass transit and keep driving our state’s economy. I’m not going to stand by quietly while we face transit cuts that will impact our economy, workers, businesses, students, access to health care, and our housing market.
READ: Philadelphia’s Mass Transit SEPTA Cuts Foreshadow Possible Similar Moves by Other Agencies Across US
Releasing this proposal isn’t something I’m happy to do—I’d much rather embrace the “common” of our Commonwealth and work to make sure all counties receive the state investments they need. I have always been proud of our commonwealth and its diversity. Several bills I’ve introduced address our state’s rural economy such as my second stage loan bill, which includes manufacturing, and a small farmer cannabis bill. However, I’ve listened to my Republican colleagues and have heard loud and clear that they don’t want to contribute to our region. This bill does exactly what they have spent years asking for: ensuring their tax money stays local. Now ours would, too. Mass transit is critical to the economic success of our great Commonwealth and a vital part of life for SE PA and Philadelphia, the sixth-largest city in the U.S. We must encourage our successes, not punish them.
State Rep. Melissa Shusterman (D-Chester) represents Pennsylvania’s 157th Legislative District.
