Letter to the editor: Election may be over, but political bribery is not

The election may be over. But political bribery is not.

I voted on Nov. 8, but I woke up the next morning to a state that still permits lawmakers to accept gifts, in the form of cars, vacations and fancy meals, from lobbyists. It’s ludicrous but painfully true. Bribery is legal. There are no limits on the amount of gifts our lawmakers can accept from lobbyists in Pennsylvania.

I woke up to a state that suffers at the hands of a corrupt Legislature. Our minimum wage remains shamefully low at $7.25 an hour, our water is being poisoned by oil spills, our public education system is crumbling, the very air we breathe is polluted.

I woke up to a state that has yet to enact a gift ban, establish public campaign financing or shine a light on dark money expenditures.

We are told to take our concerns and channel them into a vote. Every election we are presented with the same regurgitated political performance: “Vote for me, vote for change!”

Until our Legislature works up the courage to make the moral choice to end legal bribery, the cycle will continue. We will wake up every Wednesday morning after Election Day with the same dreadful feeling in our stomachs.

Andrea Pauliuc

Oakland

The writer is an internal organizer and project manager for MarchOnHarrisburg.