NFIB State Director Greg Moreland released the following statement today in response to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s second budget address:

“Pennsylvania is staring down the barrel of a structural deficit. This means that expenditures have outpaced revenues, and this trend is projected to continue for the foreseeable future. But that hasn’t stopped Gov. Josh Shapiro from announcing a historic $48 billion in expenditures in his proposed 2024-25 budget.

“If small businesses budgeted the way the Commonwealth has, they’d be filing for bankruptcy and closing their doors forever. Shapiro can’t continue to kick the can down the road and leave the Commonwealth broke as he prepares for his inevitable presidential campaign in 2028,” state director Greg Moreland states.

“At the rate we are headed, the Commonwealth will have blown through the ‘Rainy Day Fund’ and all reserves in the next several years. What happens then? The government will be forced to raise taxes on individuals and businesses, reaching further into the pockets of those still struggling in the aftermath of the pandemic.”

A major focus in Governor Shapiro’s budget address that NFIB is paying special attention to is economic development, job creation, and innovation. Shapiro has proposed $600 million in spending through a comprehensive economic development strategy.

Moreland said, “While we applaud efforts to make Pennsylvania more attractive to businesses looking to locate in the Commonwealth, the legislature has yet to take up policies that will help businesses that have already been here for decades.

“These efforts include repealing the accelerated sales tax prepayments (HB 1404), regulatory reform (SB 350), allowing small businesses to utilize ‘net operating losses’ (SB 662), lawsuit protections from predatory attorneys (SB 1015), and small business healthcare reform (HB 555 & HB 545).”

Additionally, Governor Shapiro has continued to support and call for a more than doubling of the minimum wage. Moreland said, “Minimum wage is meant to teach first-time workers the soft skills of employment. It is not meant to be a family-sustaining wage.

“The market, in the aftermath of the pandemic, has corrected, and now many businesses are already offering starting wages above $15/hour. If this policy were to be enacted, by 2033 there would be a negative employment impact of almost 104,000 jobs.

“Furthermore, over 58,000, or 56%, of those jobs are in small businesses. Also, by 2033, there would be a negative economic output impact of almost $14 billion, with over $7 billion of that economic output produced by small businesses.

“The fiscal cliff is real, and it’s coming. Lawmakers better be prepared to make some tough decisions when it comes to entitlements and spending, or else they will be forced to raise taxes. The spending is out of control in a commonwealth that continues to bleed population. Government is spending the citizen’s money in a manner that is unsustainable, and soon the façade will show its cracks.”