Pennsylvania

JPZenger

(6,819 posts) Thu Feb 23, 2012, 04:10 PM Feb 2012

PA. Governor proposing to eliminate all funding for parks, trails, and agricultural preservation

http://conservationadvocate.org/

http://keystonefund.org/?utm_source=Conservation+Advocate+-+Keystone+%231&utm_campaign=keystone+fund+%231&utm_medium=email

For the last couple decades, Pa. has dedicated part of the cigarette tax to permanently preserve agricultural lands. Hundreds of thousands of acres have been permanently preserved, with the cooperation of landowners.

For the last couple decades, PA. has dedicated a 0.0015% tax on real estate transfers to the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund. This program has provided grants to municipalities to buy and improve parks, build trails and upgrade libraries. Municipalities, counties and other entities compete each year to propose the best projects to obtain a grant. A portion has also been used to preserve important natural areas, such as river valleys and wooded mountainsides. Other portions of the funds are used each year to repair facilities at State Parks and in State Forests. A portion has also been used to upgrade buildngs at state-owned universities.

The Keystone program requires 50% of the total project to be raised from local matching grants, which helps municipalities attract donations of land or money.

Now, the Governor is proposing to PERMANENTLY eliminate all of these programs, so that he can fund a reduction in business tax rates.
---
Update:
Informative letter from the PA. Parks and Recreation Society to state legislators about this issue:

http://paconservationadvocate.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/prps_senapprop_120216.pdf

5 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

PA. Governor proposing to eliminate all funding for parks, trails, and agricultural preservation (Original Post) JPZenger Feb 2012 OP

WTF??? atreides1 Feb 2012 #1

Actually, there were a whole lot of us who weren't stupid, just unlucky. blue neen Feb 2012 #5

What do all of those gun owners in Pennsyltucky think of this? Dawson Leery Feb 2012 #2

Not much of a governor's race JPZenger Feb 2012 #3

JP, I don't know how this state is going to make it until 2014. blue neen Feb 2012 #4

atreides1

(16,087 posts)

1. WTF???

Reply to JPZenger (Original post)

Thu Feb 23, 2012, 04:13 PM

Feb 2012

I never thought the people of PA were actually this fucking stupid...they elect some asshat whose investigation of a child molester was never completed...and they really thought he was the best one for the job.

Must be those chemicals from the fracking that got into the water...

blue neen

(12,327 posts)

5. Actually, there were a whole lot of us who weren't stupid, just unlucky.

Reply to atreides1 (Reply #1)

Thu Feb 23, 2012, 06:09 PM

Feb 2012

Some of us knew he was an asshat all along.

Dawson Leery

(19,348 posts)

2. What do all of those gun owners in Pennsyltucky think of this?

Reply to JPZenger (Original post)

Thu Feb 23, 2012, 04:55 PM

Feb 2012

JPZenger

(6,819 posts)

3. Not much of a governor's race

Reply to Dawson Leery (Reply #2)

Thu Feb 23, 2012, 05:02 PM

Feb 2012

PA's Governor was elected in 2010. It was not much of a race, the Dem. candidate didn't do much or say much. People from the Dem. candidate's home county (including Pittsburgh) were mad because he had added a tax on alcoholic drinks served in bars.

2010 was a year when the teabaggers were highly motivated and filled the PA. legislature with new teabaggers (including a 22 year old kid who never had a real job and lived with his parents). Most Dems stayed home.

In 2010, the only thing most voters knew about Corbett was 1) he promised not to raise any taxes, and 2) he was trying to put legislators in jail. In reality, he delayed going after some of the most powerful legislators until after they had little power, and his polices have caused big increases in local school taxes.

Also, people didn't know he ignored the need to investigate child abuse charges against Sandusky for over 2 years (which was his responsibility), because he was too busy prosecuting mid-level staffers who worked for the legislature.

Our Governor is quiet, boring and not that smart. He rarely says anything that is worth quoting. Our local press mainly reprints AP articles. As a result, his policies doesn't attract as much attention as they should.

Joe Sestak for Governor in 2014.

blue neen

(12,327 posts)

4. JP, I don't know how this state is going to make it until 2014.

Reply to JPZenger (Reply #3)

Thu Feb 23, 2012, 06:07 PM

Feb 2012

Corbett is destroying it very quickly.

Yep, Joe Sestak for Governor in 2014. Where do we sign up?

Reply to this discussion