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Chester County Press

Uncle Irvin: Dinniman struggles to break deadlock

03/01/2016 02:00PM ● By Richard Gaw
State Sen. Andy Dinniman is fantasizing by introducing legislation to place financial sanctions on Pennsylvania's lawmakers when a timely budget is not produced.
While Sen. Dinniman should be commended, his bill will never see the light of day. In fact, with Pennsylvania's General Assembly, the bill is a joke. No legislator in Harrisburg who wants a job for life -- which is 99 percent of them -- will ever vote to increase any tax to bring in substantial revenue. Nickels, dimes, or gambling revenues are the only fair game.
The gridlock we have in Harrisburg is far worse than in Washington, D.C. Congress doesn't have a budget either, but they now get together to keep the government running. To make matters worse, we have a liberal for a Governor, who is in way over his head.
While Dinniman's bill is going nowhere, he is the best of the worst. The only Democrat ever selected to the State Senate from Chester County is running for re-election this year. The last time Dinniman had an opponent, he handily defeated County Commissioner Carol Aichele. This year, the GOP has nominated a lightweight who should be cannon fodder for Dinniman.

(Uncle Irvin's column is his opinion only, and is not a news story.)