Shale tax (Penn: school districts, transportation, affordable housing)

[pman]

While I generally support a shale tax, I have reservations about it being used for things like "economic development [aka subsidies for cronies]," affordable housing, etc. I'd like to see it go to transportation and conservation with a large trust fund set up for cleanup and monitoring of things like water quality. this seems like a legislator trying to set up a grab bag of pork

[LEFT]Reps. Gene DiGirolamo and Tom Murt, both of southeastern Pennsylvania, were joined by a variety of environmental and social-service advocacy groups at the event as they called for a 4.9 percent levy on natural gas.
...
"We think this drilling tax is right for the state of Pennsylvania and for all its citizens to benefit," said Mr. DiGirolamo at the morning news conference.
Under their proposal, an estimated $362 million raised next fiscal year would be distributed for more than a dozen uses. Those would include local government impacts, environmental projects, grants to school districts, economic development, affordable housing and increasing natural gas use.

Read more: Drill tax called 'right for the state'[/LEFT]

[Rtom45]

I agree completely.