Apr 12, 2017 2 min read

The Observer-Reporter is right to worry about population decline, as it did in a March 30 editorial. Last year, Pennsylvania’s population declined for the first time in decades, driven by a net loss of 46,000 people moving to other states. The Pittsburgh region has seen its share of this brain drain, losing almost 12,000 residents from domestic migration since 2000.

Why are people leaving our state and region? To me, the answer seems simple: Jobs.

Voters sent me to Harrisburg because they were worried about the lack of job growth in Pennsylvania. As a small-business owner, I sympathize with the challenges faced by workers and families.

One clear reason we’ve struggled to create jobs is our excessive tax burden. One example is Gov. Tom Wolf’s new 40 percent “vape tax” on electronic cigarettes. It has resulted in more than 100 vape shops closing and the loss of hundreds of jobs. I have introduced legislation to reduce this job-killing tax and preserve these small businesses, not only in my district but also throughout the commonwealth.

Our state tax burden has been driven by years of overspending in Harrisburg, which is why I’ve introduced the Taxpayer Protection Act, to limit the growth of future state spending. This legislation ensures government does not grow faster than families’ ability to pay for it. Controlling the growth of government spending will help unleash private sector job growth.

Finally, we need to continue to embrace the opportunity that energy development offers our region. At the state and national level, we need to end the war on coal, reduce the excessive time it takes the state to approve new gas wells and authorize pipelines to get natural gas to markets.

I am fighting for these reforms to bring a jobs renaissance to our region that will attract workers and families once again.

Camera Bartolotta

Carroll Township

Bartolotta is the senator for Pennsylvania’s 46th Senate District, which includes Greene County and parts of Beaver and Washington counties.