So, why can't those assholes agree on a budget?

[Bunny]

They all piss me off. :grr:

[Heath Hatcher]

1. First off, calm down

And second the GOP in Senate are playing politics. They are hold this up because there angry that a good chunk of the budget money is going to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and not to there districts up in the woods (I mean central Pennsylvania) and there holding it up cause it makes them look good to there GOP voters come election "Hey you need to re-elect me cause I don't back down, when the Governor proposed all there pork projects for Philadelphia and raising TAX DOLLARS, I didn't back down even though it meant having the state to shut down."

This is all about ploys and postureing and nothing more Bunny.

[PhishWithLemon99]

2. its about energy...

Thanks to Ridge's electricity deregulation, the rate caps are about to come off and lead to a spike in our electric bills of about 70%.

What does the Gov want to do? Borrow $850 million to pay for rebates for energy-efficient appliances and allow everyone to have a smart meter in their house to enable people to use power and be billed accordingly at the cheapest times of the day to do so, when demand is lowest. This would be financed with a 1/20th of a cent per kWh surcharge...roughly 40 cents a month for a residence, a little more for a business, and it's capped at a max of $10k a year...so US Steel, one of the largest energy users in the nation, would only pay $10k AT THE MOST. The average household, if it takes advantage of the program, would save hundreds of times what they'd be paying in the electric fee and cut their usage at the same time.

The utilities, obviously, are against this. The same utilities that bankrolled the Senate GOP's campaigns. And with new leadership in the Senate trying to prove a point, they're in over their heads, and thats where things stand now.

Nobody wants to raise any taxes in this budget. The Gov took a sales tax increase, an oil net profits tax, and leasing the operating rights to the Turnpike off the table. The GOP has given up nothing. The Gov won't sign a budget that drastically cuts services or programs like Pre-K, wants the energy package, and won't sign unless there's at least $1B of transportation funding (a drastic compromise from the $1.7B the transportation study commission recommended). The Senate GOP wants none of this. So that's where things stand now.

[modrepub]

3. Pretty Good Synopsis

Any other fellow furloughs out there? Going to out to run some errands. Guessing we'll be out a week (or more).

[PhishWithLemon99]

6. i'm one...

of the 1,400 who aren't covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act, so I'm working with pay delayed until budget is passed.

Everyone should know that the Governor is donating the after-tax of the salary he will eventually collect from the period of furlough to the Capital Region United Way. No other officials to my knowledge have agreed to donate their government salary.

[modrepub]

7. Was Bumped

My position was deemed critical but I was "bumped" by someone with more seniority or better ratings so I'm home. The scary thing here is that someone in emergency response could possibly be replaced by someone with more seniority but no background in the position they are taking (an incredibly stupid and dangerous situation). The part that angers me most is no one communicated what was going on last Friday so no one was prepared for today. The sh--s upstairs in my office hid behind their doors and refused phone calls. Sorry, but that's your job people; I don't care if you don't want to be yelled at, just do it for Pete's sake!

For us cynical types, I expect to be out at least a week. This covers about what we were supposed to get for our "bonus". Wouldn't put it past these tightwads I work for. Peace.

[Freddie Stubbs]

4. So, you want the Democrats to give in the what the Republicans want?

:shrug:

[Toasterlad]

5. If She's Furloughed, She Probably Just Wants to Go Back to Work and Get Paid.

I'd be pissed off too...at ALL of them.

[Robson]

8. They were busy playing golf today in Lancaster,PA. This is reality too BTW.

Friends keep me informed.

http://5thestate.com/

This is an outrage.

[PhishWithLemon99]

9. uhhh not exactly

Just because a member had a fundraiser doesn't mean nobody was working.

Rank-and-file has nothing to do with budget negotiations. The House was on a 6-hr recess at the call of the chair today, meaning if there was business requiring the entire House, they'd be back within 6 hours. There's no use having members sit around when there's nothing to vote on yet.

The important members (leadership and the appropriations chairs) who are privy to the negotiations were in Harrisburg all day. That's a fact. The Democratic members were also in caucus for several hours today.

This is one more example of the right-wing lies and demagoguery spread by the legislative Republicans over the past few days. Don't buy into it.

[PhishWithLemon99]

10. There's a deal

As of 10pm tonight. Furlough's over.

[rep the dems]

11. If these damn Republicans stop me from getting my license on Saturday

there will be hell to pay :mad:

Or are all the DMV's and whatnot back up and running?

[PhishWithLemon99]

12. theyre open...

there was only a shutdown for one day...Monday the 9th. The budget was signed into law this morning.