Jan 30, 2016 1 min read

In response to those who are blaming Gov. Tom Wolf for the state budget impasse, I must assume they were living under a rock when Wolf was campaigning for the job in 2014.

For months before the election, Wolf openly campaigned on a platform of levying an extraction tax on the Marcellus Shale industry to help clean up the mess that Gov. Tom Corbett created. Corbett stripped away money for education and did nothing to alleviate the pension nightmare. While all of Pennsylvania’s financial problems cannot be blamed on Corbett, he only compounded an already existing mess and did nothing to help alleviate it.

Wolf is only trying to fulfill his campaign promises. He overwhelmingly defeated an incumbent governor and is simply trying to do what the people elected him to do. His proposed tax increases are not a surprise. His intentions were made very clear during his campaign. If the Republican-controlled Legislature doesn’t want to honor the wishes of the voters in Pennsylvania, then they should all resign.

Jim Fazzoni

Cokeburg