Letter to the editor: Why are Pa. residents still paying?

During my lifetime as a resident of Pennsylvania, events happened that we seem to still be paying for.

Why are Pennsylvania taxpayers still paying for the Johnstown Flood?

Why is the Pennsylvania Turnpike still a toll road? When this idea was sold to residents, it was to become a free road a decade after in opened in 1940.

Why do school taxes continue to rise? Why doesn’t the state put a limit on the total mills a school district can assess, or better yet make it a referendum on the ballot? Education is done by professional teachers, not by the size and quality of the buildings and grounds.

Where is the Pennsylvania Lottery money going? I am not sure about the casino money. The lottery was sold to us as a way to benefit senior citizens. Why not supplement school and local taxes based on the population of senior citizens within that district?

New program and tax increases could be on the horizon because politicians — local, state and federal — look at taxpayers as their money tree. Instead, the politicians should be looking at cutting programs, salaries or personnel. The money tree is drying up because many of us are retired and must live on fixed incomes, but that does not seem to matter to politicians.

Maybe our Legislature could see fit to put a moratorium on any tax increases, to include fees, for a period of two or three years to allow the residents (money tree) to recoup some of what has been lost in the pandemic.

Robert H. Gordon

Monroeville