In theory, the law is that the General Assembly shall pass a budget, and the Governor shall sign it by June 30th. That almost never happens cleanly. Usually though, the legislature stays in session and at least pretends they’re working/negotiating. Like you at least have some level of shame when you don’t do your job, right? That’s natural. In 2025, that’s no longer a thing. The State Senate left town in June and just decided to not come back to work ever again, basically.

Now, I’m going to be fair for a second. I actually agreed with them back in May and June- how the hell do you pass a budget when you have no idea how much the Federal Government is going to give you? Between DOGE and the “Big Beautiful Bill” it was fair to say there was too much uncertainty. Based on the lack of actual partisan noise at the time, I think even the House Democratic Majority realized this. It was close to impossible to plan a year’s worth of spending when there was so much chaos. Granted, most of the State Senate Republican Majority were vocal supporters of Trump, so their complaints here are ironic. Just because they were hypocrites didn’t make them wrong though.

That time has passed. Governor Shapiro gave everyone time to figure out what was going on. Republicans passed their “Big Beautiful” pile of shit in Washington. Sure, some things can change at the margins going forward, but not so badly that you don’t move forward. Given that we’re now a quarter of the way into the budget year, the legislature could fund the last nine months with basic certainty. They just won’t.

So here’s the thing, the Governor and local officials of both parties did a nice job across Pennsylvania preventing the pain from hitting the general public. Schools opened, road projects continued, the hospitals received their Medicaid money, and so on. Counties continued providing services. You can only bleed so much blood from a stone. If you only have $100, all the magic tricks in the world don’t turn that into $110. The Feds are sending less money to counties, schools, and municipalities. The state is running out of legal authority to send any money to them either, because there’s no budget. Why should you give a shit? Safe Harbor in Easton, who cares for a large chunk of our local homeless population, announced the county is out of money to provide them to provide the services. Northampton County announced they would furlough human services employees at the end of the month. They’re out of money. If that doesn’t hit home enough for you, I think Bernie O’Hare explained it fairly plainly:

NorCo’s Human Services Department investigates allegations of abuse and neglect aimed at our children and elderly, the most vulnerable members of society. It provides a wide variety of services to individuals who have mental health issues. It provides services, usually through vendors, aimed at the prevention and treatment of alcohol and drug abuse. It also helps veterans and their dependents. 

The state funds between 80-90% of the salaries of these workers. But since the state budget impasse on June 30, the county has been paying these salaries on its own. McClure estimates that the county has spent $8-12 million so far and estimates that figure might be as high as $20 million by the end of October.

So basically, everybody who desperately needs help will stop getting it. Kids, old people, and mentally unhealthy people will be left to fend for themselves. The State Senate’s response? Take a long Summer vacation. This is serious stuff, but they’re treating it like nothing. Meanwhile, their ally running for Lehigh County Executive just thinks he’ll “get his money,” but honestly he’s just too stupid to handle this stuff. We’re heading towards a societal disaster in Pennsylvania. I realize some people like to say they’d rather live in Mississippi or Iowa than California, but are you really ready to put that to practice?

It’s time to punch back. This irresponsibility is going to cost lives. As someone who now lives about a half step from ruin, this hits home to me. People often ask what Democrats do for them- this is a good time to show them. I actually think he went a bit mild here, but McClure did get this right:

“Republicans in the State Senate have failed the people of Pennsylvania by refusing to pass a budget,” said McClure. “For three months, their dysfunction has left counties like Northampton footing the bill, costing us millions of dollars just to keep essential services going. … This is unacceptable. They must do their job, pass a budget, and stop punishing taxpayers and seniors alike.”

While I appreciate McClure and any other Democrat making this case, let’s be honest, County Executives and Congressional candidates are not the loudest voices in the room. All they can do is make their case the best they can. Those voices would be Governor Shapiro and Senator Fetterman, and we already know Senator Fetterman will let us down. Governor Shapiro is doing a great job running the government of Pennsylvania and deserves to be re-elected for that. We now need him to raise his voice though and maybe take an unsafe political stand. Him barnstorming the state and even national media and making the case that the State Senate Republicans are literally going to get people killed to have their extra long vacation would put the pressure needed in the very small number of swing districts left in the Senate. People who want to be national politicians need to know how to fight when it’s time. For Governor Shapiro, it is time. He has certainly made the case against the Senate GOP so far, but he needs to scorch the earth. The time has come.