In the last two years, Pennsylvania has added $2 billion in funding for K–12 education; created new tax credits for working families; and expanded tax credits for child and dependent care and for property taxes paid by seniors and people with disabilities. 

The state’s $13 billion surplus, created by federal COVID relief funds, made these achievements possible without raising taxes.

But Pennsylvania is now spending at least $4.5 billion more than it receives in tax revenue every year. At this rate, the state will face a fiscal cliff in two years, with a yearly deficit of $7 billion per year, even without the additional investments necessary to:

• meet our constitution's responsibility to adequately and equitably fund K–12 education. 

• address the affordability problem in Pennsylvania by reducing the excessive cost of public transit and making childcare, healthcare, housing, higher education, and workforce training more affordable.

• reduce air and water pollution and bring our roads, bridges, and buildings to good repair. 

The deficits are not new and have not been created by overspending. Pennsylvania’s total expenditure per capita is close to the nationwide average. It has been created by deep corporate tax cuts, by a failure to tax most multinational corporations at all, and by an upside-down tax system that asks low- and middle-income households to pay a greater share of their income in state and local taxes than the wealthiest Pennsylvanians, and by federal spending cuts under Trump.

To do this, we must choose between two alternatives: 

The path forward is clear: Raise the revenue we need from multinational corporations and billionaires. Invest in people and build a Pennsylvania where everyone—not just the wealthy few—can succeed.

I, the undersigned, support the Pennsylvanians Together: For Our Common Wealth plan.