PennLive from Central Pennsylvania decided to open a poll for their readers. They asked two simple questions. The poll is by no means scientific, but that doesn’t mean that it should be disregarded either. The first question was on driving in the Commonwealth. “Would a $15 fee for a drivers’ test be OK with you?” The majority replying stated yes. While that’s not extremely surprising since residents don’t need to take a drivers’ test on a regular basis, it could be interpreted as an opening for legislators that have been salivating over the concept of increasing vehicle registration fees. The flawed logic would be that if Pennsylvanians are alright with increasing one fee involved in legally driving in the Commonwealth, they’d probably be fine with increasing other fees.
While I can’t begin to understand why PennLive chose their second question, perhaps I inadvertantly stumbled on their logic. The other question, “Would you support downsizing the state House?” offers an important warning sign for Pennsylvania legislators. In the eyes of their constituents, they are expendable. There has been talk occasionally over the years about cutting back on the number of legislators in Harrisburg, and given the current economic climate, it could turn into more than just talk.
Ballot Boxes - Anthony Karanja (CC)
The Legislative branch must vote for such a thing, but the knee-jerk reaction that they would never vote themselves out of a job might be premature. With just two-year terms, members of the Pennsylvania House spend close to half their time in office trying to stay in office. If there was an effective grassroots movement started demanding that the House downsize, the members may have no real choice. Either vote to downsize and possibly lose one’s seat, or vote against it and face being voted out anyway. It is a huge “what if” situation, but given the apparent attitude of voters (at least amongst PennLive readers), it’s not out of the question.
Secured by