Top 10 Reasons Why Gov. Josh Shapiro is a Hypocrite 

“He talks a good game,” said Gov. Josh Shapiro during his recent appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. “And then when he gets to govern, he does the exact opposite.” 

Although he directed this criticism toward President Donald Trump, Shapiro could have easily been talking about himself. Broken promises and empty rhetoric have defined his first term as governor.  

Here are the top 10 examples of Shapiro’s do-as-I-say, not-as-I-do governing style:

1. Lifeline Scholarships 

On the campaign trail, Shapiro publicly supported this transformative program that would award scholarships to students trapped in failing public schools.  

Then, during his first year in office, he unceremoniously vetoed it.  

Since then, Shapiro has changed his tune. Despite saying the program promised a high-quality education for “every child of God,” the Shapiro administration now says he takes “No position.” 

2. The RGGI Energy Tax 

As a gubernatorial candidate, Shapiro called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) bad for Pennsylvania, saying he had “real concerns about the impact it will have on consumer prices, hurting families at a time when many are struggling.”  

But when the Commonwealth Court ruled that RGGI’s carbon tax was unconstitutional, the governor appealed the decision. Shapiro continues to fight in court to force Pennsylvania’s participation in the program, which is projected to increase electricity costs by 30 percent.  

Even worse, Shapiro has introduced new proposals – known as PACER and PRESS – which, if enacted, would more than double electric bills.  

3. U.S. Steel 

Shapiro had long opposed the U.S. Steel–Nippon deal, choosing to stand with out-of-state union bosses, over the 95 percent of Pennsylvania steelworkers who supported it. 

When Trump  announced a final deal, Shapiro immediately flip-flopped and celebrated the decision, calling it “a BFD”—short for big f—ing deal.

You can’t have it both ways, Mr. Governor. 

4. Balanced budget 

“I live in the real world, where we have to balance budgets,” said Shapiro while appearing on Real Time with Bill Maher. Yet, the governor proposed a budget so expensive that it would create a $5 billion deficit.

What “real world” is he living in?  

5. Late budget 

Not only is Shapiro’s budget fiscally irresponsible; it’s also late. On June 30th (when the state budget is due), Shapiro said lawmakers would reach a deal “very soon.” That was about a month ago.  

But this isn’t his first late budget. In fact, since becoming governor, Shapiro hasn’t met the budget deadline once.  

6. “Speed of business” 

The governor talks a big game on regulatory reform, but his proposals haven’t amounted to any substantive changes.  

Last year, he signed the Streamlining Permits for Economic Expansion Development (SPEED) program into law. Despite its expeditious name, the program only applies to 6 percent of Pennsylvania’s permits and requires extra fees for timely responses. The governor’s efforts have been, at best, an incremental step. 

Meanwhile, Pennsylvania remains one of the most-regulated states nationally, with more than 160,000 regulations on the books.  

7. “Competitive as hell” 

Like his lackluster efforts on regulatory reform, the governor also claims he’s making the commonwealth’s business environment competitive, especially on taxation. He said he wanted to lower Pennsylvania’s Corporate Net Income Tax (CNIT) to 4 percent by 2025. As of today, the CNIT remains at about double that rate, and Shapiro hasn’t lifted a finger to expedite the tax cut.  

Moreover, his proposed deficit spending will only result in statewide tax hikes for individuals and businesses.  

8. Gift ban 

As one of his first acts as governor, Shapiro instituted a new ban on gifts for state employees. Part of the ban includes tickets from groups with “financial relations with the Commonwealth.”  

Yet, Shapiro has accepted several tickets from a shady public-private partnership organization called Team Pennsylvania Foundation to attend professional baseball and football games. He even attended last year’s Super Bowl. In 2023 alone, the governor received more than $12,000 in tickets.  

Rules for thee but not for me. 

9. Antisemitism in Philly Schools 

Shapiro recently attacked Zohran Mamdani, the recent winner of the Democratic primary for New York City mayor, for not condemning the “blatantly antisemitic” rhetoric of his supporters.  

However, the governor has also failed to condemn antisemitism in his own backyard. The U.S. Education Department recently concluded an investigation highlighting rampant antisemitism in the Philadelphia School District and the district’s failure to protect kids.  

For years, Philadelphia Jewish students have endured death threats, swastika graffiti, and Nazi salutes. Frustrated Jewish parents even reached out to Shapiro, but to no avail. One parent’s account said the governor has “done nothing.” Now, Shapiro’s office refuses to respond to their messages. 

10. GSD 

Shapiro often refers to his work philosophy as GSD, an abbreviation—albeit a cleaned-up version—for “get stuff done.” Yet, his record of legislative accomplishment has been the least productive Pennsylvania governor in the last 50 years. Although he routinely blames the “divided legislature,” other governors with divided chambers, such as Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, vastly outproduced Shapiro.  

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Simply put, Shapiro isn’t getting stuff done, so he shouldn’t cast stones from inside his glasshouse. Broken promises and empty rhetoric have defined his first term as governor.  

Pennsylvanians aren’t likely willing to put up with Shapiro’s dereliction of duty for long. Recent polling by the Commonwealth Foundation revealed that almost seven in ten believe that the governor must take a more active role in negotiating a bipartisan budget compromise. Three-fourths also believe that the governor must focus more on working with the legislature to deliver bipartisan reforms. 

Rather than promoting himself as he prepares to campaign for his reelection (and possibly the presidential nomination), Shapiro must work toward delivering bipartisan solutions to the everyday problems that Pennsylvanians face.