Most people are motivated by the economy. And if you've lost your job, lost your mortgage, lost your 401(k), you're angry. And if your brother-in-law has lost one of those you're angry still. And when you're angry you take it out on people who are in office. Which is natural.
I'm interested in giving business an opportunity by improving the tax environment to invest and grow with Pennsylvania, to expand and put more money in capital investment and creating jobs.
The Medicaid system currently steers people toward nursing home care. Far more people can be covered in community-based care programs for significantly less.
And preserving our open spaces or having them there for recreational purposes is one of the things that contributes to the high level of quality of life that we offer in Pennsylvania, and that also translates into economic benefits.
There are a tremendous amount of environmental issues that are on the table.
I think a moratorium probably is legal, and we should probably for a short period of time impose a moratorium so that we don't permit any additional landfill permits for the time being, so we don't exacerbate the problem.
Growing Greener doesn't produce money for farmland preservation or open space preservation.
If there was a way to discourage trash constitutionally, I would sure as heck take a hard look at it. I don't think there is. So I don't think there's a choice here.
Creating new jobs for Pennsylvanians continues to be my highest priority throughout the Commonwealth.
And secondly, I would impose a significant state landfill tipping fee and use that tipping fee to fund the billion dollar bond issue that I want to create to produce the funds for all of the environmental challenges that we just went over.
I think if we're going to have to landfill trash, and I think we basically have to, we might as well get the upside for it and dedicate that upside to improving the environment in so many different ways.
And the beautiful open spaces, the forests of Pennsylvania, the recreational uses that come from having these green open spaces and forests, they contribute dramatically to the level of our tourism, dramatically.
For my part, I make this pledge to all of you: The politics of division, of pitting east against west, urban versus rural, region against region, and people against people will have no place in my Administration.
