Cranberry hosts ‘Prosperity is Possible’ panel discussion
Cranberry Township’s Regional Learning Alliance hosted Pennsylvania’s Americans for Prosperity on Thursday, Aug. 10, for a panel discussion on state economics.
“Since May 1, we have talked with tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians, right on their doorstep or over the phone,” said Emily Greene, deputy state director for the political advocacy group. “Sixty percent of Pennsylvanians believe that the country’s best days are behind them.”
Greene called the group a “grassroots organization,” meeting with communities and directing policy solutions both locally and nationwide.
“These numbers are startling, and they show that a whopping 6 of 10 individuals know that this political climate is unsustainable,” she said. “It’s overwhelming, but I think that gives us a real opportunity to move forward.
“Our solution: ‘Prosperity is Possible.’”
Americans for Prosperity invited regional lawmakers and the Manufacturer and Business Association to weigh in on government spending, changes to energy regulations and workforce development.
Seated at Wednesday’s panel were mediator Peggy Grande, former executive assistant to Ronald Reagan; state Rep. Rob Mercuri, R-28th; state Sen. Devlin Robinson, R-37th; and Jezree Friend, assistant vice president of the Manufacturer and Business Association.
“This campaign is solutions-oriented,” Greene said. “We want to help individuals realize that inflation is not inevitable, and we can turn things around.”
Grande opened the panel by addressing the organizations primary concerns.
“Today, we’re going to specifically talk about solutions in three areas: ways that you can lower inflation, unleash energy abundance and empower the workforce,” she said. “And we’re going to talk about this in productive and positive ways.”
Robinson said one of the primary causes for inflation was the “war on energy.”
“Pennsylvania, and especially Western Pennsylvania, has an abundant amount of natural gas underneath our feet,” he said, “and doing away with the regulations and the misinformation war that’s coming from the left is paramount to reducing inflation and getting people to be able to feed their families.”
Mercuri agreed, saying that Pennsylvanians had “gold mines under our feet.”
“By saying that it’s off limits, we can’t grow that aspect of our economy,” he said. “And we do need to continue to grow that portion of our economy.”
He added that “overspending in gigantic, record amounts” throughout the pandemic is another major contributor to inflation.
“So I think the first thing that the national economy needs to do is spend within its means, which is easier said than done but it’s important to say,” Mercuri said. “Now at the state level, beyond energy policy, we have to also spend within our means.”
While the state constitution requires a balanced budget, he emphasized responsible spending at every level of government.
“Whether its one administration or another, they would love to overspend,” Mercuri said. “Our own federal government has done that repeatedly, so we’ve got to spend within our means.”
According to Friend, overregulation in labor, as a whole, has stunted Pennsylvania’s growth, encouraging businesses to settle in neighboring states.
“We aren’t as competitive with the states right next door to us,” he said. “Ohio is just cleaning our clock right now, and they really shouldn’t be.”
From a recent trip to Ohio, as well as working closely with businesses near the border, Friend called the difference “night and day.”
“We drove through Columbus, and there was a big old sign in Columbus, right outside their capital, that talked about, ‘No corporate income tax, grow here,’” he said. “If Pennsylvania could see something like that, that’d be nice.”
He added that Pennsylvania’s potential participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a regulated program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, would further push businesses away from the state.
“It’s a tax on energy-producing power plants,” he said. “It will shift them from happening here, and it’s going to move, very simply, to West Virginia and Ohio.”
Mercuri agreed, saying that regulation increased the cost of labor in the state and reduced innovation.
“It’s the antithetical to Reagan’s view that (Americans) and (Pennsylvanians) need to be employed by an employer who knows what’s best for them, who often is tied to government incentives,” he said. “And it’s those negative forces of the government that work against prosperity.”
As the session came to a close, Greene called Thursday’s program a “success.”
“We were able to talk with the region’s best community leaders, state representatives, state senators, about the need for ‘Prosperity is Possible,’” she said. “This campaign is really about reaching those who feel disenfranchised, and feel their voice doesn’t matter when they’re turning on the TV and seeing partisanship in Washington.”
