John K. Manna
- John K. Manna
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John K. Manna: Corbett’s plan for gas pumps is really a tax by any name
Nobody likes to raise taxes until it’s time to raise taxes. And so, Gov. Tom Corbett is calling for an increase in ... No, he and his transportation secretary, Barry Schoch, say the proposal to lift the cap on the wholesale price of gasoline in Pennsylvania is not an increase in any tax rate.
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John K. Manna: Governor shows there are consequences to elections
Elections matter. Perhaps the most evident proof of that these days is the man who was elected governor of Pennsylvania in 2010 — Tom Corbett.
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John K. Manna: A new way to judge the judges
Over the years, I’ve changed my mind a few times over how judges are selected to Pennsylvania’s appellate courts. I’ve favored merit selection of judges for the three appellate courts: Commonwealth, Superior and Supreme. And I’ve favored having the judges elected by the voters as they are now.
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John K. Manna: Governor leaves lots of questions with YDC closure
Under Pennsylvania’s constitution, the governor has supreme executive power. With that power, the governor can run state departments under his jurisdiction as he sees fit without legislative approval. Thus, his decision to close the New Castle Youth Development Center by Feb. 15, affecting 223 employees, falls within the scope of his powers.
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John K. Manna: Payroll tax rise will have impact on workers
If one thing can be taken away from the fiscal cliff deal, it is this: Beware of tax cuts. While President Obama and Republican congressional leaders were wrangling over taxes for the rich and taxes for the not-so-rich, there was seldom any mention of the Social Security payroll tax.
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John K. Manna: How to share state’s burden of pension costs
We’re all in this together, which is the only good thing about Pennsylvania’s massive pension problem. The state’s two pension plans that cover public school and state employees has a current unfunded liability of about $39 billion and is expected to grow by about another $22 billion in the next six to seven years.
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John K. Manna: Taking a look at the numbers from Tuesday’s election
While President Obama and all Democrats for statewide offices carried Pennsylvania on Tuesday, the same wasn’t true in Lawrence County. Some Democrats won in the county while some lost.
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John K. Manna: White House run may not impact other offices on ballot
Until 2004, a Republican presidential candidate had not carried Lawrence County in 32 years. President George W. Bush pulled it off that year by defeating Sen. John Kerry in the county by a little more than 400 votes.
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John K. Manna: Data shows most welfare money goes to elderly, disabled
I seldom comment on another columnist, but I couldn’t resist responding to a column written by Larry Kudlow. In the column that appeared this week in The News, Kudlow wrote about how government spending has increased under President Obama in the last four years, primarily with welfare spending and specifically with Medicaid.
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John K. Manna: Higher turnout in county helps Democrats
There may be some exceptions, but presidential elections usually generate a higher voter turnout than so-called off-year elections. The question is, how much effect will voter turnout for this year’s presidential race have on other contests, including those for Congress and the state Legislature?
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