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Radio PA Roundtable – August 8, 2014

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On this week’s Radio PA Roundtable, Governor Tom Corbett stops by for his August taping of “Ask the Governor. We’ll bring you excerpts of that conversation dealing with Philadelphia school funding, a controversy involving his former education secretary and the downgrading of PA’s credit rating by Moody’s. Also, Penn State football practices started up this week and the start of the 2014 season is only 3 weeks away. You’ll hear from new Head Coach James Franklin.

Radio PA Roundtable is a 30-minute program featuring in-depth reporting, commentary and analysis on the top news stories of the week.

Click the audio player below to hear the full broadcast:

Radio PA Roundtable – November 1, 2013

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On this week’s Radio PA Roundtable we profile the two candidates for state Superior Court, which is the only contested statewide contest on the ballot this Tuesday…and you’ll hear a Philadelphia ghost story that actually wasn’t.

Radio PA Roundtable is a 30-minute program featuring in-depth reporting, commentary and analysis on the top news stories of the week.

Click the audio player below to hear the full broadcast:

Radio PA Roundtable – October 4, 2013

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On this week’s Radio PA Roundtable: a wrap-up of state House of Representatives activity including the transportation funding and property tax issues; the healthcare marketplace opened on Tuesday; and some daytrip alternatives if the federal government shutdown has spoiled your plans to visit a national park.

Radio PA Roundtable is a 30-minute program featuring in-depth reporting, commentary and analysis on the top news stories of the week.

Click the audio player below to hear the full broadcast:

Ask the Governor (AUDIO) from Monday, August 19th

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This edition of Ask the Governor was recorded on Monday, August 19th, 2013 and also featured the first appearance by the First Lady of Pennsylvania, Susan Corbett. You can listen to the entire program on PAMatters.com and/or watch video clips of specific topics. And we now offer this audio version COMMERCIAL FREE. Click the play button to get started…

Christman Blog: What’s Your Work Philosophy?

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It’s January and you return to your very well-paid job from a nice holiday break – a month and a half holiday break. Certainly everyone can relate to that.

Your boss welcomes you back and then informs you that he has several big and important projects for you to complete by mid-year. In fact, some of them are so important that the very financial future of the company is at stake. The good news, though, is that you have 6 whole months to make it happen.

What is your approach?

Do you jump into action, prioritizing and tackling each project independently and thoughtfully, spreading the work out so that you have adequate time to devote to each initiative? After all, this is very important. Remember…the entire company is trusting and counting on YOU.

Oh, did I mention that you can’t get fired for another year and a half? Yes, no matter how badly you bungle things, short of breaking the law, you’re guaranteed to be employed through December of 2014.

So, maybe you take a different approach to your assignments this year. Perhaps you spend 5 months and 23 days arguing with co-workers, demanding you get your way on everything and enlisting outside special interests to come in and bad-mouth anyone else’s ideas. Then, 6 days before your boss’s deadline, and with none of your work actually done, you can try to squeeze everything into one week before heading out the door bragging about how well-deserved your three month summer vacation is, regardless of how many of your projects are left unfinished. Why, you might even issue a press release boasting of your accomplishments.

Those are two possibilities for your approach to this important work assignment. Guess which one your state lawmakers took on the major issues of transportation funding, pension reform, alcohol privatization and the state budget in 2013.

Oh, sure, there was lots of talking, followed by more talking and then concluding with…talking, but here we are – 6 days before the expected end of the fiscal year – and not a single major initiative is finished in Harrisburg. Not one. In fact, a birdie is whispering in my ear that it’s quite possible this final week of the fiscal year is about to get off to an even rockier start than expected.

The games people play…with your company. With your money…

There is a silver lining to all this. Remember that boss I mentioned? Well, that boss is you. Remember that when you watch your employees’ performance in Harrisburg this week. Remember it when you’re looking at the condition of your company, also known as the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Most of all, remember it when you pull the curtain in November of 2014 and issue your worker evaluations, and don’t be fooled by those clever employees, who know about the power you hold in 2014 and will certainly try to convince you, maybe even bribe you, into believing that they are valuable members of the team and deserve to be retained for another 2-to-6 year contract. They’ll fill your inbox with full-color memos (produced on the company printer you paid for, by the way) detailing what they think, which usually fills up more space than would detailing what they accomplish. They’ll smile in your presence and tell you everything is just fine and dandy with your company.

But you’ll know better because you’ll remember everything you’ve seen this year…

 

(Brad Christman is the News Director of Radio Pennsylvania and a veteran of 19 state budget seasons in Harrisburg)

 

Senate Liquor Privatization Bill Unveiled

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The long-awaited and much-anticipated Senate version of liquor privatization legislation is now officially unveiled. State Senator Chuck McIlHinney uncorked his proposal Tuesday after chairing a series of public hearings in his Senate Law & Justice Committee.

McIlhinney’s proposal would expand the carry-out sale of wine and spirits to more than 14,000 existing license holders, such as restaurants, hotels and beer distributors. Currently, their licenses only allow for the sale of alcohol to be consumed on the premises. There would be annual fees for permit holders…$8,000 for wine AND spirits; $4,000 for wine OR spirits only; and a $2,000 specialty permit to sell only a specific category of spirits (brandy & Cognac, cordials, gin, rum, tequila, vodka, whiskey).

The legislation would dramatically expand the access to alcohol for consumers, but the state would maintain wholesale control of the system for at least two years, during which a study will determine the next steps, which could include total divestiture of the wholesale system.

State stores that currently sell wine and spirits will be evaluated based on the expansion of sales in each given area. Some stores may be closed, others may remain open. There are also reforms for packaging and shipping included in the Senate version of the bill, including allowing direct shipments from wineries to PA residents. The onerous 18% Johnstown Flood Tax would also be eliminated under the proposal.

While Governor Tom Corbett wants any privatization proceeds to go to an education block grant, Senator McIlhinney’s bill directs funds to a Property Tax Freeze program for seniors. Additional money would also be set aside for rape crisis and domestic violence programs.

Critics say the plan would cost PA taxpayers tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue.

McIlhinney said Tuesday that the legislation has the votes to make it out of committee, but he does not yet have enough votes to pass the proposal in the full Senate. Governor Tom Corbett has said he wants a privatization plan passed before lawmakers finish their work on the state budget and head out for their summer break.

 

Radio PA Roundtable – May 31, 2013

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On this week’s Radio PA Roundtable, Brad Christman brings you a U.S. Senate vote on a farm bill amendment on crop insurance subsidies backed by Pennsylvania’s Pat Toomey. Also, state House Republicans have their own budget plan in Harrisburg and is there a volunteer firefighting crisis in PA?

Radio PA Roundtable is a 30-minute program featuring in-depth reporting on the top news stories of the week.

Click the audio player below to hear the full broadcast:

[audio:https://s3.amazonaws.com/witfaudio/radiopa/Roundtable05-31-13.mp3]

Radio PA Roundtable 05.10.13

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On this week’s Radio PA Roundtable, Brad Christman and Matt Paul remember the life and governorship of George Leader, who passed away Thursday at the age of 95. Also, the big money issues are moving on a faster track in Harrisburg…updates on pension reform and transportation funding.

Radio PA Roundtable is a 30-minute program featuring in-depth reporting on the top news stories of the week.

Click the audio player below to hear the full broadcast:

[audio:https://s3.amazonaws.com/witfaudio/radiopa/Roundtable05-10-13.mp3]

Radio PA Roundtable 05.03.13

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On this week’s Radio PA Roundtable, Brad Christman and Matt Paul review a week that put Radio PA’s “Ask the Governor” program in the national spotlight following comments by Governor Tom Corbett regarding the unemployed and drug testing. As always, video clips from that show are also available here on PAMatters.com.

Radio PA Roundtable is a 30-minute program featuring in-depth reporting on the top news stories of the week.

Click the audio player below to hear the full broadcast:

[audio:https://s3.amazonaws.com/witfaudio/radiopa/Roundtable05-03-13.mp3]
health care, prescription

Report: Fewer Pennsylvanians Getting Health Insurance via Employer

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The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has been tracking a decade-long decline in the number of Pennsylvania residents who receive health insurance through their jobs.  Back in 2001 78% of Pennsylvania residents received health insurance via their employers.  In 2011; 67%. 

A new report indicates the reduction is due to a combination of fewer employers offering insurance and fewer employees selecting insurance.  “And we think that part of this has to do with the costs,” RWJF senior vice president John Lumpkin tells Radio PA.  “Over the last ten years we’ve seen that the cost of buying insurance in Pennsylvania has more than doubled, and this makes it difficult for companies to try to purchase insurance for their employees.” 

Pennsylvania’s average employer-sponsored insurance premium for individuals now stands at $5,100.  Family premiums increased from $6,400 – $14,300 over the time period covered in the study.

In all, 47-states saw a statistically significant decline in employer-sponsored insurance over the past decade.  Pennsylvania was one of 22-states to see a drop-off of ten percentage points or more, but Lumpkin says it still ranks in the middle of the pack.

Starting in 2014, Lumpkin believes the health insurance exchange, offered via the Affordable Care Act, will provide alternatives for the 33% of Pennsylvanians who do not receive health insurance through their employers. 

But will states like Pennsylvania experience a further decline in employer-sponsored insurance once the federal health care overhaul is fully implemented?  According to Lumpkin, no.  “Seven years ago Massachusetts passed a law that was very similar to what we see with the ACA, and in their experience employer-sponsored insurance – insurance through the job – has stayed exactly flat.” 

Pennsylvania has elected to allow the federal government to operate its health insurance exchange, or marketplace, but could still opt to assume control at a later date.