PA Budget Stalemate Likely To Continue

Even though the Pennsylvania constitution requires that the state budget be enacted by June 30th, the Commonwealth has missed that deadline for the seventh consecutive year. This year's impasse is much more serious than previous years, however, as the country's economic downturn has left this and nearly every state with far less revenue than anticipated. How to balance the 2009-2010 budget is now at the heart of the stalemate. While Governor Rendell calls for an increase in the Personal Income Tax (PIT), Republicans are advocating more spending cuts to balance the books. Even if the Democratic House followed the Governor's lead, a budget can't get done without the Republican Senate buying into the plan. In short, no budget deal is expected in the next couple of weeks. In fact, most Capitol insiders believe that the deadlock will drag into August.