Letter to the editor: We don't need RestorePA

Gov. Tom Wolf is persistent if nothing else. Wolf has proposed a severance tax for five consecutive years. The interesting part is that each year, the severance tax is to fund another program, project, line item.

This year Wolf has spent a great deal of time selling his RestorePA program. The governor traveled the commonwealth this summer explaining all the wonderful things RestorePA will do. What the governor does not spend a great deal of time talking about is how RestorePA will be funded.

Citizens should ask how RestorePA will be funded, but I doubt the citizens of Pennsylvania will be surprised to learn that the beloved severance tax is on the table to fund RestorePA. That is after the massive borrowing to get the program started this year occurs.

RestorePA is a $4.5 billion plan to provide counties with programs and services that sound nice but are not worth the multigenerational debt that RestorePA will bring. RestorePA will demonstrate how over-taxing an industry will result in loss of jobs and revenue for Pennsylvania. Borrowing and increasing taxes will not promote economic growth. RestorePA will have a negative impact on our economy.

Randi Fowler

Upper St. Clair