Tony Phyrillas: Poverty declines, so who needs John Edwards?

The Census Bureau released its annual assessment of poverty levels in the United States and guess what? Poverty is on the decline.

The Bureau reported Tuesday that 36.5 million Americans, or 12.3 percent — were living in poverty in 2006 (the most recent numbers available). That's a drop from the 12.6 percent rate recorded in 2005.

Of course, it's George W. Bush's fault. Oh, wait. This is good news. I was just thinking about the the liberal media was going to say about the poverty statistics. The left-wing media's knee-jerk reaction to blame Bush for everything, but in this case, the president deserves the credit, which is probably why you won't read or hear much about the declining poverty numbers in the mainstream media.

Check your local newspaper Wednesday to see where the "Poverty Rate Declines" story is placed. For the past six years, the poverty rate was front page news because the the numbers rose slightly each year. How much you wanna bet that newspapers will bury the story about the drop in poverty in Wednesday's editions?

Pity "poor" John Edwards. The millionaire trial lawyer's entire campaign for president is based on the fact that he plans to eliminate poverty. He is going to bridge the gap between the "two Americas." How can we forget that John Edwards went on his Magical Poverty Tour this summer to bring attention to the plight of poor Americans.

What's the point of Edwards' staying in the race if poverty is in decline? Is another attack on Ann Coulter coming in the next few days to revive the sinking Edwards' campaign?

You can read the full poverty report at the Census Bureau's Web site.

Tony Phyrillas

Tony Phyrillas is a columnist for The Mercury in Pottstown, Pa. He received a first place award for Best Opinion Column in 2007 by Suburban Newspapers of America. He was also honored for column writing in 2006 by the Society of Professional Journalists.

Copyright © 2005-2007, THE CENTRIST Blog; All Rights Reserved.

Tony Phyrillas: Don't be fooled by latest property tax relief scheme

House Democrats have come up with another scheme they are billing as property tax relief. Pennsylvania lawmakers have embarked on a statewide tour to promote the latest plan to partially reduce property taxes by increasing other taxes.

This one is called House Bill 1600. If the plan sounds familiar, it's because it's another bait-and-switch scheme the Legislature and Gov. Ed Rendell have cooked up. It sounds like another half-measure similar to Rendell's slots bill of 2004 or Act 72 of 2005 or Act 1 of 2006, House Bill 1600 is more smoke and mirrors. Another carnival shell game.

This is not the property tax elimination promised by the Commonwealth Caucus Plan, which was last voted on by the House two years. The plan was supported by 64 Republicans and 10 Democrats, but was rejected by the majority of the Democratic Caucus. Supporters want to resurrect a modified version of the Commonwealth Caucus Plan this fall (now called the School Property Tax Elimination Act of 2007), but not if House Bill 1600 gets any traction.

The two leading state taxpayer groups advocating elimination of property taxes in Pennsylvania have already rendered a verdict on the Democrats' version of tax relief. It's thumbs down on House Bill 1600 from both the Pennsylvania Coalition of Taxpayers Associations and S.T.O.P. (Stop Taxing Our Properties).

Both groups warn that this is nothing but another half-measure by politicians who want to fool taxpayers with another Band-Aid approach to tax reform.

Here's what Bob Logue of S.T.O.P had to say:

"They’re at it again. Some legislators, led by Rep. Dave Levdansky, D-Allegheny County, have repackaged the same old property tax scam voters have rejected three times. House Bill 1600 would: Temporarily reduce school property taxes while permanently increasing sales/use taxes and the state income tax. Because there is nothing in this legislation that would prevent school taxes from increasing again, you would eventually be paying higher property taxes again along with the higher income and sales taxes."

S.T.O.P. is urging Pennsylvania residents to contact their state legislators and tell them you want him or her to oppose House Bill 1600.

"Tell them the only true property tax reform is total abolishment of all property taxes and assessments/reassessments on primary residences," Logue said. "The S.T.O.P. plan is complete, proven workable by the legislative budget and finance committee, and permanent. The S.T.O.P. plan kills property taxes on primary residences … period."

Read more about plan at http://www.grandoldusa.com/

Here's what David Baldinger of the Pennsylvania Coalition of Taxpayer Associations said about House Bill 1600: "Pennsylvania taxpayers won't accept another feeble attempt at property tax reform by the Pennsylvania Legislature. Like Act 1 and its predecessors, Act 72 and 50, HB 1600 would offer only token reductions in property taxes while opening up new avenues to tax Pennsylvania citizens without addressing the cause of the current crisis."

Representatives of the PCTA's 21 member taxpayer groups from across Pennsylvania met in Chester County over the weekend to unanimously condemn House Bill 1600 and to endorse the School Property Tax Elimination Act of 2007.

"Since school property taxes are not eliminated under HB 1600, they will continue to escalate leaving the taxpayer with the same burdensome property tax plus new taxes under HB 1600, without addressing the cost of education, the property tax crisis, or the issue of equitable funding for public schools," Baldinger said.

Members of various taxpayer groups plan to attend hearings across the state by House Democrats to speak against HB 1600.

The next hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 29, at 10 a.m. in the Oley Fair Center, 26 Jefferson St., Oley. Berks, Chester and Montgomery residents are urged to attend the meeting and voice their opposition to House Bill 1600 and support for the Property Tax Elimination Act of 2007.

For more information, visit the PCTA Web site at http://www.ptcc.us/

For all the talk state lawmakers have given us so far this year about reform, the No. 1 reform Pennsylvania taxpayers want to see — elimination of property taxes — has yet to be considered by the Legislature.

It's time to put pressure on your lawmaker, especially the ones who ran on a reform platform in 2006, to bring the Property Tax Elimination Act of 2007 up for a vote. Let's see where lawmakers stand on genuine property tax reform.

Tony Phyrillas

Tony Phyrillas is a columnist for The Mercury in Pottstown, Pa. He received a first place award for Best Opinion Column in 2007 by Suburban Newspapers of America. He was also honored for column writing in 2006 by the Society of Professional Journalists.

Copyright © 2005-2007, THE CENTRIST Blog; All Rights Reserved.

Tony Phyrillas: Pennsylvania ranks No. 1 in structurally deficient bridges

After initially claiming information about the condition of Pennsylvania bridges was a state secret, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has released safety ratings of 54 steel deck bridges located in the state.

PennDOT Secretary Allen D. Biehler announced recently that both the "sufficiency" and "condition" ratings for the 54 bridges similar in design to the bridge that collapsed in Minnesota have been posted at http://www.dot.state.pa.us/

"This list represents the first step toward providing additional data about Pennsylvania's 25,000 state maintained bridges, " Biehler said in a statement. "In the coming weeks, we will add the data for the rest of our large bridge inventory."

Pennsylvania ranks No. 1 in the nation in structurally deficient bridges. Pennsylvania has nearly 6,000 crumbling bridges, according to the state. Basically, one of out every four bridges in the state is considered structurally deficient, meaning they are in need of some level of repair. Approximately 800 bridges have weight or lane restrictions and 54 are closed, according to Biehler.

PennDOT's Web posting contains a glossary of terms used in bridge charts, a drawing of a steel truss bridge with components identified and the chart with individual bridge information, including the sufficiency rating and three condition ratings numbers, according to Biehler.

"Our bridge engineers use these numbers to manage our system and help us decide on prioritizing bridge needs," Biehler said. "The numbers should not be viewed as a measure of whether a bridge is safe or not. If a bridge is open, it is safe for travel."

That's probably what transportation officials in Minnesota said about their interstate bridge before it collapsed Aug. 1.

The truth is the Rendell administration has diverted money for road and bridge repairs to subsidize failing mass transit systems over the past five years.

Bridges and roads don't vote. But the high-paid union workers who drive buses, trolleys and trains and the politically-connected officials who run the bloated mass transit systems do vote -- and contribute generously to politicians.

Keep your fingers crossed, or better yet, say a prayer, next time you cross a bridge in Pennsylvania.

I'm sure Biehler doesn't want to be known as the man who ran PennDOT when a bridge collapsed, but this is the same man in charge in February when thousands of motorists were stranded on Interstate 78 during an ice storm.

Biehler says his people are doing extra inspections of the 28 steel deck truss bridges PennDOT owns that are similar in design to the Interstate 35 bridge that collapsed in Minnesota. PennDOT has also asked the owners of the 26 other steel deck truss bridges in the state to inspect them right away. All state-owned bridges are inspected every two years and more frequently if a bridge has serious deterioration, Biehler said.

And all the talk about raising the gas tax to provide more money for bridge and road repairs is a smoke-screen. There's plenty of money coming in from the state and national gas tax. The problem is that politicians use the money for pork projects instead of maintenance. Giving them more money to waste is not the answer.

In 2006, PennDOT spent $558 million on bridge projects. But the state poured nearly $1 billion to subsidize inefficient mass transit systems.The much-ballyhooed plan to toll Interstate 80, which may not happen if two Pennsylvania congressmen have their way, would provide an additional $532 million per year over the next 10 years to repair roads and bridges, according to Biehler.

I'm not doubting Biehler's sincerity, but I know how government works. Politicians have a bad habit of diverting money from needed maintenance work to more high-profile projects that will help them get elected. I'm sure it's the same everywhere, including Minnesota.

Tony Phyrillas

Tony Phyrillas is a columnist for The Mercury in Pottstown, Pa. He received a first place award for Best Opinion Column in 2007 by Suburban Newspapers of America. He was also honored for column writing in 2006 by the Society of Professional Journalists.

Copyright © 2005-2007, THE CENTRIST Blog; All Rights Reserved.

Tony Phyrillas: Working 6 months to pay the government

Cost of Government Day - n. the date of the calendar year, counting from January 1, on which the average American has earned enough in cumulative gross income to pay for his or her share of government spending (total federal, state, and local) plus the cost of regulation.

-- Americans For Tax Reform Web site

Working hard this summer? Would it surprise you to learn that you've toiled for at least six months this year to pay for government?

The Cost of Government Day came and went on July 11, 2007. That's how many days the typical American worker had to work to pay off his or her tax debt. It was two more days than you had to work in 2006 to pay off your debts to government at local, county, state and national levels.

It's not tax hikes that pushed the day back this year. The Democrats in Congress haven't been able to pass their planned tax hikes yet. And Pennsylvania politicians are boasting they approved a $27.2 billion general fund budget without tax increases. (That doesn't include toll hikes on roads or other government fees, not to mention government borrowing, which is a hidden tax).

The reason you have to work two days more this year to pay your share of government is the high levels of spending by the federal government, according to Americans For Tax Reform (ATR), which releases its annual Cost of Government Day report.

You can read the full report at http://www.atr.org/national/cogd/index.html

"Right now, taxpayers are under attack from Congress," said Grover Norquist, president of Americans For Tax Reform. "With tax increases on everything from cigarettes to private equity on the table, this year's Cost of Government Day must spur politicians into action to protect taxpayers and the economic growth achieved under President Bush's tax cuts."

Americans for Tax Reform is a non-partisan coalition of taxpayers and taxpayer groups who oppose any and all federal and state tax increases.

With Congress in control of the Democrats and the prospect of a Democratic president next year, hold on to your wallets. Remember the recession Jimmy Carter led us into? How about the Clinton/Gore recession after the last Democratic administration?

A couple of other notes for Pennsylvania residents from Americans For Tax Reform.

The average Pennsylvania taxpayer had to work 189 days, or until July 8, 2007, to pay off his or her share of government spending this year, according to ATR.

Also, taxes in Pennsylvania have increased by a cumulative $1,030,600,000 from Fiscal Year 2002 to FY 2009.

Remember that next time Gov. Ed Rendell or members of the Legislature do one of their song-and-dance routines about cutting taxes.

Taxes have risen every year Rendell has been in office. Enjoy the rest of the year. You can actually keep the money in your paycheck.

Tony Phyrillas

Tony Phyrillas is a columnist for The Mercury in Pottstown, Pa. He received a first place award for Best Opinion Column in 2007 by Suburban Newspapers of America. He was also honored for column writing in 2006 by the Society of Professional Journalists.

Copyright © 2005-2007, THE CENTRIST Blog; All Rights Reserved.

Tony Phyrillas: Giuliani beats Clinton in 2008

My recent unscientific poll of who will be the 2008 Republican nominee for president came out about what I expected.

Rudy Giuliani received 34 percent of the vote, while Fred Thompson received 32 percent. Mitt Romney received a paltry 13 percent of the vote. And 18 percent of those casting a preference think someone else will be the GOP nominee.

I think Giuliani will end up with the Republican nomination because he's the most electable Republican candidate. Republicans and moderate Democrats (the few that are left) have seen what it's like to turn the country over to far left zealots since Democrats took control of Congress.

The Democrats had their 100 days to make a difference and blew it by doing the opposite of what they promised. They've squandered the goodwill of the electorate by doing everything that got the Republicans kicked out of office (partisan witch hunts, pork spending, ethical lapses, etc.)

In other words, there's no difference between Democrats and Republicans in Washington, D.C., except for the fact that Republicans are willing to defend this country from the Islamic fascists who declared war on us, while Democrats think appeasement is the way go to.

In the end, the GOP base will decided that anybody but Hillary is acceptable.

Thompson, while a favorite of the conservative wing, would have trouble appealing to independent voters and Democrats who can't stomach another Clinton in the White House. And that is the key to the 2008 election. After 20 years of choosing between Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton, voters are looking for a fresh start.

Hillary will win the Democratic nomination and will most likely pick Barack Obama as her running-mate. Two liberals running the ticket will limit their ability to attract moderates.

Giuliani can beat Clinton in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, which doesn't leave much left for Clinton, who will end up winning the John Kerry states and not much more.

And I think Giuliani will ask Thompson to be his running-mate, bringing geographic balance to the ticket and offering some consolation to the Republican right.

It will be another close election, but Hillary has too many negatives to win and there isn't anyone else in the Democratic Party that can win, either.

Check back in 15 months to see if I'm right.

Tony Phyrillas

Tony Phyrillas is a columnist for The Mercury in Pottstown, Pa. He received a first place award for Best Opinion Column in 2007 by Suburban Newspapers of America. He was also honored for column writing in 2006 by the Society of Professional Journalists.

Copyright © 2005-2007, THE CENTRIST Blog; All Rights Reserved.