Standoffs over funding are piling up in Harrisburg and Washington, while trust in government is eroding.
By Julia Terruso and Gillian McGoldrick, Philadelphia Inquirer
Pennsylvania school districts are taking out loans to keep schools running. Counties have had to furlough staff. Now, add to the ongoing state budget impasse a federal government shutdown threatening Pennsylvanians’ paychecks and some critical social service benefits.
Welcome to the swing state of dual governmental dysfunction, where legislative standoffs at two levels could cause headaches for residents whose distrust in government and frustration with polarization has only grown.
The state budget impasse — with funding nearly three months overdue — has held up billions of dollars in state payments for critical government services, from public schools to county behavioral health programs. The late budget, which is largely due to partisan disagreements between the GOP-controlled state Senate, Democratic-controlled House, and Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, has required many schools to take out loans to keep operating, and some counties have been forced to furlough staff or freeze spending.
» READ MORE: Pennsylvania’s state budget is nearly 3 months late. Leaders still can’t agree on the basics.
Standoffs over funding are piling up in Harrisburg and Washington, while trust in government is eroding.
Now, Congress looks unlikely to meet its Oct 1 deadline to fund the federal government, leaving Pennsylvanians bracing for a political pileup that threatens to stall more paychecks and shutter services in one of the only states with a divided state government.
“It takes disappointed and disillusioned Pennsylvanians and gives them one more data point that makes questions about the viability of their institutions real,” said Chris Borick, pollster at Muhlenberg College.
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