State budget crisis leaves Pennsylvanians feeling had

It's the end of August.

Pools are closing, kids are heading back to school and home gardeners are trying to figure out what to do with all those tomatoes and zucchini.

It should be a time of endings -- and new beginnings.

But in Pennsylvania, we're still struggling with the unfinished business of a state budget.

When the old fiscal year ended June 30, who would have believed that we'd be limping into September with no resolution in sight?

And it's not as if Gov. Rendell and the House and Senate leadership have been busting their butts to reach an agreement.

Half the time, they weren't even talking.

In these tough economic times, most of us have scaled back our spending. We often question whether we're getting good value for our money.

When it comes to Harrisburg, we've been had.

We have more state legislators per capita than anyone else in the country.

We pay 'em more and give 'em more perks that anyone else.

And they can't even get a budget in on time.

Gov. Rendell and the legislature have failed in their fiduciary responsibility to Pennsylvania and its residents -- failed miserably.

Both sides are so entrenched that the words "compromise" and "negotiation" aren't in their vocabularies.

And while the governor and legislative leaders continue their standoff -- everyone else in the state suffers.

Truly, we've been had.