Largest Anti-Tax Organization in Pennsylvania Endorses Medaglia for State Senate

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) February 26, 2011 -- Citizens Against Higher Taxes
James H. Broussard, Chairman (717) 507-5171
P.O. Box 343, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033


FOR RELEASE: FEBRUARY 26, 2011


TAXPAYER GROUP ENDORSES MEDAGLIA

Dr. James H. Broussard, Chairman
Citizens Against Higher Taxes
Reading, PA

Berks County taxpayers have a vital decision to make on March 15. Two people want you to send them to the state senate. One of them, Larry Medaglia, has a long record of efficient service as the county’s Register of Wills. The other person, Judy Schwank, has a long record of reckless spending, raising taxes, and piling up debt that has left taxpayers holding the bag for her expensive years as county commissioner. And that’s exactly why Citizens Against Higher Taxes is proud to endorse Larry Medaglia for election to the state senate on March 15.

Larry Medaglia has shown that he cares first and foremost about the taxpaying families of the 11th Senate district. He has signed the Americans for Tax Reform pledge to vote against any and all net increases in taxation. Judy Schwank has refused to rule out raising your taxes.

Larry Medaglia has pledged to support and vote for the complete elimination of property taxes, the most regressive and unfair of all our taxes. In 2001, Schwank raised voted to raise your county property tax by 18%. Then, in 2005 she raised your property tax again--this time by 34%. That was too much even for her fellow Democratic commissioner, Tom Gajewski. In 2007 he wanted to cut those high tax rates--but Judy Schwank said no.

And here’s the worst of it. Even those back-breaking tax hikes couldn’t keep pace with Judy Schwank’s desperate urge to spend more and more and more taxpayer money. In her time as county commissioner, spending rose by almost $100 million. And since even Judy couldn’t raise taxes fast enough, she borrowed millions upon millions that Berks County families will have to pay back--with interest. One commissioner calculated that Judy Schwank piled up so much debt that Berks County owes more per person than any other county in the state.

In summary, here’s what Schwank did as your commissioner: she raised your taxes. Then she raised them again--a total of 52%. Then she voted against cutting those sky-high taxes. Then she drove the county’s debt to the highest level per person of any county in the state. Then she walked away from the mess she made, took a job out of the county, and left Berks County families to bear the burden of her high taxes and huge debt.

We as taxpayers face one overwhelming challenge this year in Harrisburg. We have to dig ourselves out of a 5 billion dollar hole left by Ed Rendell’s eight years of runaway spending. Larry Medaglia will reduce business taxes, including the capital stock and franchise tax, which Schwank has not mentioned.





It seems to me that one thing should be very clear. If you have to climb out of a deep, deep hole, the last person you want helping you is the person who grabbed a shovel, dug the hole, and pushed you into it in the first place.

That’s exactly what Judy Schwank did to the taxpayers of Berks County, and that’s exactly why she is the last person you should elect to the state senate.

And that’s exactly why Citizens Against Higher Taxes is proud to endorse Larry Medaglia for election to the state senate on March 15.

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