The $6 Billion Question for Gov. Shapiro 

Pennsylvania families are already squeezed financially by record-high electricity bills and the ever-increasing cost of living. Now, Gov. Josh Shapiro is asking them to cover the cost of his reckless spending spree. 

In February, Shapiro proposed a $53 billion budget, one that would push the state’s structural deficit to more than $6 billion.  

The math doesn’t lie, and neither does the price tag. Pennsylvania’s Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) concluded that the trajectory of Shapiro’s budget will inevitably lead to higher taxes. 

“Our opinion is that a broad-based tax increase will be necessary because it will not be possible to cut spending enough to address that full deficit,” IFO Executive Director Matthew Knittel said. 

Analysis by the Commonwealth Foundation finds taxpayers are on the hook for a $2,100 tax hike to plug that hole. Plus, his proposal drains the Rainy Day Fund, which is reserved for genuine emergencies, not the governor’s tax-and-spend wish list.  

That’s why the foundation just launched a new statewide ad campaign that calls on Pennsylvania lawmakers to stop Shapiro’s tax hike. The ad launched Sunday in the Harrisburg, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh television markets and is backed by a statewide digital buy.  

With the June 30th budget deadline bearing down, Pennsylvania lawmakers have a choice: hold the line on spending or pass the buck onto Pennsylvanians. Hard-working taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for the governor’s special interests and self-serving spending. Instead, the governor and his colleagues in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives must pass a budget Pennsylvanians can actually afford. 

Watch the ad and learn more.