DN editorial: Wolf takes realistic tack on Pennsylvania budget

IN THE MIDST of the budget speech Gov. Wolf delivered Tuesday, he made a statement that was spot-on in describing what's been happening in the state Capitol for too long.

"To Pennsylvanians," Wolf said, "it seemed like the budget always brought out the worst in Harrisburg. Politicians always found a way to avoid making the tough decisions. Special interests always found a way to avoid giving up their special privileges. And taxpayers always ended up holding the bag . . . "

Someone say, "Amen."

In this budget address, gone was Tom Wolf the dreamer, who once offered a compelling and expensive vision of government that required major increases in the sales and income tax, just for starters.

The man who showed up Tuesday was Tom Wolf the realist, chastened by his experience in failing to get any of his taxes through - and the nearly two-year-deadlock over his first budget.

Wolf the realist is also Wolf the candidate for re-election, so he knows the Republican-controlled Legislature was looking for any excuse to fight over taxes and spending. He didn't give them much to hit him with.

In fact, Wolf's $32.3 billion budget proposal had a distinct Republican look to it, offering a hefty $2 billion in cuts. After the speech, the legislative Republicans sounded a bit flummoxed, as if the Democratic governor had stolen a few pages from their playbook. They found themselves offering muted praise for many of his proposals.

Wolf even swore off any attempt to raise the sales and income tax, though he still wants a severance tax on natural gas, which would raise $295 million, and an increase in the minimum wage from $7.25 to $12 an hour. Such an increase, the governor said, would yield $95 million in new state taxes paid by the higher-paid workers. The Republicans hate both ideas and have rejected similar proposals in the past.

Wolf also went looking for sacred cows and rounded up a sizable herd. For instance, he wants to impose a $25-a-person fee on municipalities that use the state police instead of paying for a force of their own. He says it amounts to a free ride - and he is right - but most of those communities are in Republican districts.

At the end of the day, Wolf had little choice but to cut, trim and consolidate. The state faces a $3 billion deficit by the end of 2018 unless something is done. Wolf realized that the state workforce would have to be trimmed, that most state departments would have to live with less and that some programs would have to be jettisoned altogether. (One item on that list: the $31 million annual grant to the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine.)

When all is said and done, Wolf's proposed budget increases state spending by $500 million - with most of that money earmarked for state aid to education, a Wolf priority. That part is especially good news for the Philadelphia School District, struggling as always to avoid a deficit.

He also added $75 million to the kitty for state support of pre-kindergarten plus millions to help the fight against the opioid epidemic, including $10 million to purchase one of the most effective antidotes for an overdose.

Now, the Republicans, who control the House and the Senate, will have their say, and there's no doubt changes will be made. But they will be hard-pressed to do better than the governor's realistic, spread-the-pain approach.

With Tuesday's proposal, Wolf has asserted his leadership, seized the high ground and given Harrisburg's other politicians an opportunity to show their best for a change.