This afternoon, I got something from my confidential informant -- aka: my man on the street, Huggy Bear.
It's an e-mail exchange that took place between state Rep. Seth Grove, R-Dover Township, and a guy from Philadelphia (who I guess I won't name, seeing as he's not a public official).
I gave Grove a call this afternoon, and he confirmed that the exchange took place. He said, in efect -- hey, there's no legal prohibition on paying more taxes if you really want to.
Whether it was a valid response, or whether you share the Philadelphia guy's viewpoint that it was unduly snarky, I'm reproducing it here for the following reasons:
1) It went out to a big list of recipients (more on that in a second), so I don't feel it's tantamount to invading anybody's privacy.
2) I find testy e-mail exchanges to be entertaining. Don't you? Oh c'mon! Fess up!
The orginal e-mail went out on Thursday, addressed to every member of the state House of Representatives. It said (in all caps, as reproduced below):
"DEAR REPRESENTATIVE,
I AM WRITING TO YOU TO EXPRESS MY STRONG SUPPORT, AND WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR A MODEST INCREASE IN THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE INCOME TAX.
IN UNDERSTANDING YOUR POSITION OF CONCERN IN RAISING TAXES IN A TIME OF ECONOMIC CRISIS, I ALSO WISH TO IMPRESS UPON YOU THE GRAVE AND SERIOUS IMPLICATIONS A FAILURE TO INCREASE REVENUE FOR PENNSYLVANIA WOULD HAVE ON OUR CHILDREN, VULNERABLE CITIZENS, AND THE ECONOMY AS A WHOLE.
SUSTAINED ECONOMIC RECOVERY WILL REQUIRE BOLD INVESTMENT IN OUR CITIZENRY -- THE DRIVERS OF OUR ECONOMIC ENGINE. A REDUCTION IN SERVICES IN THE SHORT RUN WILL SAVE THE STATE MONEY, BUT AS PEOPLE LOSE THEIR ABILITY TO UTILIZE HEALTH CARE, EDUCATION, DISABILITY, AND OTHER NEEDED SERVICES, THE COSTS WILL BE SHIFTED ONTO ALREADY STRUGGLING INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES.
CUTTING SERVICES TO MILLIONS OF PENNSYLVANIANS IS A SURER AND MORE PAINFUL ROUTE TO DECREASING HOUSEHOLD HEALTH THAN A MODEST INCREASE IN INCOME TAX RATES.
YOU HAVE BEEN ELECTED TO OFFICE TO SERVE THE NEEDS OF ALL PENNSYLVANIANS, AND AS A CONCERNED VOTER, I TRUST THAT YOU WILL MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION AND "NO" VOTE ON SB 850."
Grove replied:
"Thanks Kevin. Please feel free to submit your additional voluntary taxes to:
PA DEPT OF REVENUE
PAYMENT ENCLOSED
1 REVENUE PLACE
HARRISBURG PA 17129-0001"
The Philadelphia guy (I guess you already inferred that his first name is Kevin) replied in turn:
"Representative, your snide remarks are disrespectful and tasteless.
A citizen of the state should be able to voice their view on the state budget without being subject to belittling remarks.
If your dismissive response is indicative of your leadership style, it is little wonder the state has failed to balance the budget on schedule."
I'm not picking sides on this one. But I'd just like to point out that this guy from Philadelphia doesn't know from "disrespectful and tasteless." If he wants to acquire a newfound understanding of those terms, he should listen to the weekly "What Have We Learned" podcast with me, Jeff Frantz and Mike Argento at:
http://ydr.inyork.com/ydr/opinion
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