Jan 20, 2016 2 min read

Your editorial “Legislators have earned do-nothing reputation” tries to blame state lawmakers rather than Gov. Tom Wolf for the budget impasse.

Here’s the reality: The Legislature passed three budgets in 2015. I think that is a record for one year. Wolf vetoed two of those budgets, and seven other bills. He was the first governor in 40 years to veto a full budget. Although he signed the third budget, Wolf slashed $3 billion from public schools out of spite.

Wolf admitted his vetoes “hold the children of Pennsylvania hostage” and has said he wants “to keep the pressure up.”

“I want a fight,” Wolf said after one veto, while calling the budget he signed “garbage” and an “exercise in stupidity.”

You can imagine why lawmakers are having a tough time working with him. His spokesman even recently said, “Negotiations are over.”

There’s a reason Wolf was named the most liberal governor in America. He refuses to work with legislators unless they support a massive tax hike. Lawmakers do not need to raise taxes. I don’t want to pay more in taxes, and neither do my neighbors, Republicans, Democrats or Independents. Pennsylvania taxpayers already have one of the highest burdens in the country, and taking more out of our paychecks will hurt families and businesses.

By fighting Wolf’s massive tax demands, lawmakers are doing exactly what we elected them to do.

Mary Taufer

Washington