Pennsylvania is one of the states in the United States of America. Its location is in the north-eastern region of the U.S. It borders Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, Ohio and Ontario as well as New Jersey and New York. It is 33rd largest state in land area, but the 6th most populous and the 9th in population density in the U.S. Harrisburg is its capital.
The state is largely a Democratic Party region. It is a crucial state in the US politics. It is a swing state. It has only supported a losing candidate in the US presidential elections twice since 1932 to 1988.
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) released a report of the states with the most anti-government and hate groups in the US. Pennsylvania has the highest of these groups in the country. In 2015, there were about 60 anti-government groups in that state (Alexandersen np).
The people of Pennsylvania are dissatisfied with their state government. They were particularly dissatisfied with their current Democratic governor Tom Wolf. The approval ratings for the governor and the Republic legislature are at an all time low. Only one in seven voters is supporting the legislature, and only one in three voters is supporting the governor
Voters are angry over several issues. To begin with, the legislature failed to do the final full year budget. Several lawmakers admitted of receiving gifts (Esack np). This failure and corruption have prevented the state government from increasing education funding as planned. A lot of money that the state could use in various development projects has disappeared due to the high level of corruption in the Republican-controlled legislature.
Other than corruption, the lawmakers and other officials are incredibly immoral and unethical. Voters in Pennsylvania are ashamed by the actions of most of the legislators and other officers. The legislators are more than likely going to lose their seats. During a telephone poll interview, four in five people in the state agree that the state government needs some serious reforms, especially in the legislature. Democrats, Republicans, and independents all agree that the state government requires some reformation.
Leaders like Treasurer Rob MacCord resigned after charges of attempting to siphon money from campaign donations. Michael Eakin, a Supreme Court Justice is now facing disciplinary action for sending and receiving inappropriate emails in his capacity as the Supreme Court Justice. Kathleen Kane, who was the Attorney General, is facing perjury charges. The House is more likely going to impeach her, and she is also facing perjury charges (Esack np).
Last but not least, the Pennsylvania people are tired with the manner in which their state government is wasting their resources. The state's legislature is way too big. The state pays the legislators a lump sum draining the state's coffers. There have been efforts to reduce both the senate and the house (Esack np). These efforts have been futile so far. The bill that is supposed to go to the ballot for the citizens of Pennsylvania to determine the size of the house must go through the same house for approval. If the same legislature that is to reduce in size controls the whole process, then it will be a challenge for that bill ever reaching the ballot. The only hope now is for the people to agitate for their government to reduce the lawmakers' salary and direct those funds to more important projects.
Works Cited
Alexandersen, Christian. ‘The Hateful State: Pennsylvania has Fifth Most Hate groups in the
U.S.’ Penn Live. Retrieved from http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/02/the_hateful_state_pennsylvania.html
Esack, Steve. ‘Voter Disgust Hits Record High for PA Government and Politicians, Poll
Finds.’ The Morning Call. Retrieved from http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-pa-fm-poll-shows-voters-hate-state-government-20160128-story.html
