It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Democrat-controlled Scranton Times-Tribune doesn’t like the fair impact fee collected on Marcellus drilling in the state and instead prefers an unfair severance tax. It certainly doesn’t surprise us that they they think in such a twisted way. After all, 60% of the impact fee stays local and out of the hands of Harrisburg politicians. That’s just not “right” in Democrat-land. The other 40% that does go through the sticky fingers of Harrisburg politicians isn’t “enough” for good Lib Dems like those who control the Times-Tribune. So in their latest editorial, the Times-Tribune fans the flame of PA Democrat Auditor General Eugene DePasquale’s investigation into the industry in tracking down the “missing” $30 million of impact fee money (see PA Auditor General to Investigate “Lost” $30M Marcellus Impact Fee). True to Lib Dem form, the Times-Tribune wants DePasquale to go far beyond a simple investigation. They want DePasquale to somehow override the will of the legislature, and the residents of Pennsylvania, and extra-Constitutionally change the tax structure–throwing out the impact fee and instead slapping a nose bleed severance tax on the industry. That’s their preferred outcome. It will produce more money (so they reason) for them to play with and hand out to welfare slugs in “struggling urban areas” who keep voting for them…
