Drilling industry representatives, some Republican legislators and their think tank supporters are ignoring Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s famous caution, “you are not entitled to your own facts,” as they repeat a talking point that is just plain wrong.
No matter how many times they parrot the false assertion that revenue from Gov. Wolf’s proposed severance tax will not be used to increase education funding, it won’t make it true.
The graph below clearly illustrates that Gov. Wolf’s budget proposes for the lion’s share of severance tax revenue to be used to fund education.[1] The revenue from the tax would be deposited into the General Fund, and then allocated to the basic education funding line item. By 2019, it would add up to a $1 billion increase in the basic education funding line item.
The governor’s proposal to use the severance tax to fund education is plainly laid out and easy to find and verify. Assertions to the contrary are disingenuous, dishonest and just plain wrong.
[1] See slide 19 http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/document/1481895/2015-16_budget_slide_presentation_pdf