Transportation

Conventional governing is hampering Pennsylvania’s progress. Growing state budgets combined with one-time revenue transfers and targeted tax hikes are delaying the structural reforms essential to improving the quality of life for people who live and work in Pennsylvania.

Governor Corbett's proposed budget of $28.4 billion in general fund spending and $67.6 billion in spending from all funds represents our highest spending levels ever—exceeding years when federal stimulus dollars inflated total spending. This budget, however, still reflects a reduction from 2010-11 spending levels when adjusting for inflation.

Pennsylvania's roads and bridges need repair. But before taking one more dollar from working men and women through higher prices at the gas pump, lawmakers must work to ensure every cent of the billions of dollars in taxes and fees we currently spend are used efficiently.

Motorists frustrated with high gas prices should be on the alert—your pain at the pump could get worse, and it has nothing to do with Middle East tensions or gas company profits. Sadly, many in the transportation industry and some lawmakers in Pennsylvania believe the only way to fix our roads is to increase gasoline taxes and charge drivers more in vehicle fees. This low-octane loser is surely another wrong exit for taxpayers whose tank is already on empty.

Facing immense fiscal and political pressures, many local governments are looking for ways to fund services without raising taxes. But officials need not curb their enthusiasm for fiscal responsibility if they simply put the brakes on being in the parking business. Pennsylvania has 41 special government parking authorities; the rest of the nation, combined, has five. Despite their abundance, few can explain exactly why Pennsylvania relies on government-run parking monopolies.

Pennsylvania must undergo a rapid transformation to reverse the poor policy decisions that have eroded economic freedoms and brought the state to its present condition. To provide a roadmap for success in this critical endeavor, the Commonwealth Foundation has compiled a list of 80 policy recommendations for Gov. Corbett and state legislators to help lead a Pennsylvania comeback. Each of these recommendations links to Commonwealth Foundation research with more information on each issue.

While table games have been in Pennsylvania casinos for more than a month, I don't know if Gov. Rendell has tried his luck. But it would be a safe wager that he's a fantastic poker player. Why? For eight years, he's been able to bluff, bully, and stare down anyone who opposes his tax-borrow-and-spend agenda.

Governor Rendell has proposed a series of tax increases to fill a $415 million transportation funding deficit created when the federal government rejected his plan to toll I-80 for a third time. The state's highway system is in sorry condition, but not because taxpayers pay too little. Pennsylvania spends more on transportation than nearly every other state, and since the Governor took office, transportation spending increased 53%. The biggest problems with the state's infrastructure are m

Gov. Rendell has called a special session of the Pennsylvania General Assembly to discuss transportation funding. Here are some resources on financing and managing Pennsylvania's transportation infrastructure.

Now that the federal government has rejected the ill-conceived plan to toll I-80 for a third, and supposedly final time, Gov. Rendell and the General Assembly must implement serious solutions to the Commonwealth's transportation funding challenges.