Pennsylvania has gone a couple of months without a budget. It appears that the day to day running of the government has been spared the pain, but things are just not being done. The future of the Main Street program hangs with the budget, so the main street managers have a stake in the budget this year.

As you look at national politics, you can see there is a trend forming against the party of the incumbent. People and voters are gravitating to non-politicians because of paralysis in the national system. If it is a Democratic idea, the Republicans are against it and visa versa. 

As I look at the debate, I have already gone on record as advocating for the end of the state store system. I believe the workers in the stores should be given some kind of option to be a part of the change, but I think the real estate people that have pulled liquor stores out of the downtown should head to unemployment lines across the state. 

I also advocate for the state to reduce property taxes and make the school districts more reliant on state funding through whatever means is agreed upon. The only thing that increased property taxes do is make it more difficult for the elderly to maintain a home. The baby boom generation is just starting to hit their stride in retirement scenarios, and will be impacted on a large scale. 

The two paragraphs above are one thing the Republicans want and one thing the Democrats want. Although people think it is a political issue, really it is a people issue. Everyone would want to be able to go to a Liquor Store that was not open according to a government schedule, buying government selected brands, and everyone would want lower property taxes. Why is this so hard to do?

It is just an ingrained opposition that has taken the nation by storm. It appears there is a need for a party that will take everyone. If a party was locally based, per county, and was just a party where tea party types could run in one municipality and a socialists run in another municipality, things would be better. The reason they would be better is that there would not be the control that there is now over the ideas. 

I believe I have detected a trend to reject the politics of the status quo and paralysis, and elect some people who want to work together. Certainly, no one wants what we have now, where on a national level and a state level, if one side comes up with an idea, the other side opposes it. There cannot be that many ideological roadblocks to stuff like this.

You look at government; it is broken… flat out broken. Sure, some stuff works for some people but in most cases, it is a matter of urgent need in response to a tragedy or immediate injustice or a lobbyist request. It is time to expect better… better from the paid politicians and better of ourselves as we decide whom to vote for on Election Day. Probably the only way to make a difference would be in the primaries where the selection is the widest. But then again the “party” sometimes endorses candidates before the primary because of cronyism. You get a light turnout in the primary and invariably the people who the party faithful want to win, will win.

I am not sure that on a state or national level we are ready to make a change in how we select candidates or what we require of them. There could be an effort to get more nonaligned people in local offices like councilman or township supervisor, who do not belong to a party, to enable them to gain experience and build a reputation of being able to get things done. It does not seem that hard to get things done if everyone has an open mind. Decisions cannot be made on dogma or a partisan game of who blinks first.

There should be a common aim to “do good” and like my mother used to say “play nice.” If we could just take those two principals and have the politicians, realize that we are starving for leadership and functionality of purpose from statesmen so we would not be facing this dilemma today. There is too much uncertainty relating to programs for economic development to have this go on for so long… makes it hard for me to work. 

Meanwhile we all sit back and play a game of wait and see about this year’s budget.  My main vested interests in the budget are my continual need to get a second bottle of Mogen David 20/20 at 11:00 PM at night and my desire to see my school taxes reduced from the 30 or so mills that I pay now to live in my house.