Editorial: Rendell for governor

November 1, 2006

As writers, journalists and other assorted members of the collegiate press, we are obligated to both ourselves and our readers to offer nothing but the truth. It is in this mindset that we endorse Ed Rendell to be re-elected as governor of Pennsylvania. In his four years as governor, he has helped to improve the quality of life in this state in areas such as economic development, job growth, Medicaid, healthcare, the environment and education.

Before Rendell was governor, Pennsylvania was ranked 41st in the nation in terms of job growth; but, under Rendell’s leadership, that number has jumped to 15th. Over 130,000 jobs have been created since 2003. Further, Rendell has issued the first raise in the minimum wage since 1997, increasing it to $6.25 an hour, with plans to raise it to $7.15 an hour by next July. The increase is now higher than the federal minimum. Under Pennsylvania’s old minimum wage law, a single parent could work a full-time job and still remain below the poverty level.

The property tax, a tax on the owner of a piece of real estate proportional to the value of the item being taxed, was cut by about $1 billion. This is not symptomatic of Bush’s Economic Stimulus Plan that benefits only the wealthiest one percent; the property tax is a regressive tax, falling disproportionately on those of lower incomes. The working classes, comprised of individuals like farmers and pensioners, have high assets, accumulated over time, but low monthly incomes. Therefore, a larger proportion of lower income tax payers’ money is taken. Rendell’s property tax reduction actually benefited all citizens of Pennsylvania.

Senior citizens, another group negatively affected by the property tax, have also been helped by Rendell’s prescription drug plan. He expanded the Programs of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) by raising income limits so more senior citizens have been given prescription drug coverage. Pennsylvania also used to be in the practice of deducting Social Security from unemployment checks, but Rendell signed a law ending that process.

Rendell has increased funding for education, using $1 billion in gaming revenue to invest in school programs. The state share of school funding will also continue to increase until it reaches 42 percent, which takes the pressure off of local school districts to raise its community’s taxes.

If Rendell remains in office, he hopes to put into action a proposal known as “Cover All Kids,” which would guarantee access to affordable and comprehensive healthcare coverage for all uninsured children in Pennsylvania, covering visits to doctors, hospitalization, prescription drugs, mental health and substance abuse services and vision, dental and home healthcare.

Rendell is responsible for the Growing Greener 2 initiative, one of the project’s crucial assignments being to improve the quality of Pennsylvania’s drinking water. He has also joined a number of other states in creating their own programs to fight against mercury pollution because the federal plan for doing so is flawed. He has signed into law the Clean Vehicles Program to reduce air pollution and require that cleaner cars be sold in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania also currently leads the nation in the reuse and recycling industry in employment, payroll and sales.

Rendell is a big proponent of alternative energy sources. His Energy Harvest Grant Program was instated to award people and businesses who implemented wind, solar, biomass, waste coal, recycled energy and other alternative energy sources. In 2000, the state only purchased five percent of its energy from alternative sources, but that has now risen to 20 percent, while energy usage has decreased by six percent. Pennsylvania could soon become the nation’s leading producer of biodiesel (a clean burning alternative fuel produced from domestic, renewable resources) as it already has the East Coast’s first state-of-the-art biofuels injection facility. Also, the first coal gasification-liquefaction plant is set for construction in Northeast Pennsylvania. The coal-to-diesel facility will produce 40 million gallons of clean-burning diesel fuel each year.

But perhaps most impressive is Rendell’s support for the “One-Gun-A-Month” Law, one of the most progressive gun control initiatives in the country. According to The Express-Times, this law would limit the “straw purchasing” of handguns, where a person with a clean criminal record buys a gun on behalf of someone prohibited from buying guns. As it stands right now in Pennsylvania, there is no limit to the number of guns a person can buy at one time, nor is there a waiting period or a permit requirement for buying a handgun. By limiting the number of firearms a person can buy to one per month, the influx of guns into the black market would be curtailed.

Ed Rendell is a politician. Like all politicians, he is flawed, but he is the best candidate for governor in the current race, and has the progress made in Pennsylvania over the past four years to prove it.