York County News

Rep. Seth Grove of Dover expressed strong opposition to Governor Josh Shapiro's budget proposal following the governor's recent address. According to Grove, Shapiro's budget decisions have led to the depletion of an $8 billion surplus and the expansion of the state budget by $9 billion since assuming office. “Shapiro came into office with a budget of $42.7 billion and an $8 billion budget surplus," noted Grove. "In just his third budget, he has eviscerated the $8 billion budgetary surplus and is proposing to balloon the state budget by $9 billion from when he took office by raiding the Rainy Day Fund. This level of financial mismanagement, even for Pennsylvania, is unprecedented."

Grove questioned the outcomes of the increased spending, asking, “What are the outcomes of all this spending? Do we have a growing population? Have our students’ test scores drastically improved? Is our economic growth off the charts? What exactly is our return on investment?” He argued that taxpayers are essentially left with the status quo: “It’s simple, taxpayers get the status quo. Bigger government, bigger spending and no improvements. Garbage in, and garbage out.”

For the past two years, Grove has offered alternative strategies for fiscal sustainability, which include zero-based budgeting, similar to the approach Shapiro used in Montgomery County. Additionally, Grove proposed work requirements for able-bodied welfare recipients, eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse in the Department of Human Services, and integrating mental and physical health services in Medicaid.