Comments on: Keeping an Eye on Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania Government

By: Ales Rarus - Lining Their Pockets

Ales Rarus - Lining Their Pockets — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:01:23 +0000

[...] Operation Cleansweep is looking better and better… [...]

By: No Open Government in Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania @ Ales Rarus

No Open Government in Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania @ Ales Rarus — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 02:14:02 +0000

[...] Recently I highlighted a grassroots effort to make Pittsburgh's government more open to public scrutiny - or return it to that state, as the case happens to be. Sadly, that effort has met with failure. [...]

By: Ales Rarus - A Rare Bird, A Strange Duck, One Funky Blog » Holding Politicians Accountable

Mon, 10 Apr 2006 15:51:51 +0000

[...] Remember that raise PA legislators gave themselves? Well, Operation Clean Sweep Pennsylvania isn't the only group torqued by it. Common Cause Pennsylvania wants in on the butt-kicking. [...]

By: Ales Rarus - A Rare Bird, A Strange Duck, One Funky Blog » Rock the Capital [of Pennsylvania]

Mon, 10 Apr 2006 14:58:37 +0000

[...] I've told you about Operation Clean Sweep before (here and here). Now it's time to Rock the Capital. [...]

By: Ales Rarus - A Rare Bird, A Strange Duck, One Funky Blog » Screwed Up Priorities

Tue, 21 Mar 2006 00:51:33 +0000

[...] Given a choice between lowering taxes on necessities, like groceries, or a non-necessity that causes health problems, some deadly, for users and those around them, which cause increases in everyone's insurance premiums, I'd think anyone with more than sawdust for brains would choose groceries. Publius and some folks in the comboxes have suggested that no matter how steep the tax on smokes got, poor people would still buy them, which certainly wouldn't help them become any less poor. If all we were talking about was raising the tobacco tax, I might agree with them that little good would come from it. However, Gov. Harper had an opportunity to sign a bill into law that would not only raise the tobacco tax, but also lower the grovery tax. It seems to me that at worst poor people would break even in that scenario; what they'd save on groveries, they'd spend on smokes. On a side note, I'd like to point out that PA, a state whose legislature is full of selfish asshats, does at least one thing right by having the decency to not tax groceries. Taxing necessities - how retarded is that?!? [...]

By: howard

howard — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Well, at least sweep out the arrogant thieves who voted for this pay raise -- though I suppose a case could be made that some who voted against it were already certain of its passage, so they did what they thought would make them look good -- so, yeah, I with you on this.

Which is academic anyway, as my rep not only voted for it, but also commandeered the local op-ed page to tout his own courage at passing this legislation!

By: Jerry

Jerry — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

His courage? Pray tell us how he made a pay raise sound courageous, or at least how he tried to make it sound so.

By: 4HisChurch

4HisChurch — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

I've the like to Operation Clean Sweep on my blog. Vote the bums out!!

By: 4HisChurch

4HisChurch — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Sorry. That is supposed to be "I've got the link to Operation Clean Sweep on my blog." I hope they succeed!!

By: howard

howard — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

His courage? Pray tell us how he made a pay raise sound courageous, or at least how he tried to make it sound so.

-You're testing my memory a bit with that one (especially since I can't seem to find the article online anymore), but I'll take a stab at what he was trying to pull over the readers' eyes:

It basically had to do with sacrificing his good reputation for the good of the budget. In other words, "If we hadn't branded ourselves as greedy public servants by taking this pay raise, we would have never been able to pass this otherwise fantastic budget. I, of course, could have voted no, but we all realize by now that the pay raise was destined to pass and that even most of those who voted against it were in favor of it (but were too afraid to be linked to it officially). And since the executive and judicial branch employees salary increases are tied to the legislative raises -- and we do want to attract the best and the brightest to serve the Commonwealth, right? -- you see, we just had to bite the bullet and give ourselves this horrible pay raise."

Of course, that's the paraphrased version, but when you look at it like that you realize these fine ladies and gentlemen of the Assembly subjected themselves to the scourge of a higher compensation package for the good of the state. In essence, they took one for the team.

I never said I was buying his story, but that's the basic gist of it.