State Open Again, Apparently

Hey, it turns out Pennsylvania only shut down for one day, but as long as you didn’t go to a state park or get your driver’s license or work for the state you probably didn’t know anyway. Last night, a budget was not passed but a “framework” was set up. And the state employees are going to be paid, so everyone just got a free day off instead. Huzzah!

Meanwhile, this woman from Northampton immediately became my favorite politician in the state for (1) bashing people on welfare and (2) suggesting the state legislature disband.

“Today, 24,000 workers were furloughed and will not be paid, but every person collecting a welfare check will be paid. That’s more than a shame. It’s a disgrace,” said State Sen. Lisa Boscola (D., Northampton), who described the impasse as a tug-of-war over political leverage. “We should be the ones, along with the governor, to lose our jobs.”

Now we can go back to the world we previously lived in, where we never used the word “furlough.”

Budget deal ends Pa. shutdown [Inquirer]

Pennsylvania Closed For Business

Due to a budget impasse, Ed Rendell has closed all non-essential state businesses. Without a budget, these state businesses are simply impossible to run. Keeping a state park open during this scary time without a budget would rip a hole in the fabric of the space time continuum and fling Pennsylvania into Dimension X.

Ha ha, just kidding. Ed Rendell wants to grandstand and he decided the best way to do it is the hurt as many average people a possible. And so parks, DMVs, museums and other state offices are closed. Fortunately, liquor stores are still open, because although Ed Rendell wants to grandstand, he doesn’t want to hurt any of the state’s profits. Also, casinos remain open due to a court order, because only average people should be hurt, not big corporations. This is America, after all.

Okay, so it’s not like that many people are going to be hurt, unless you depend on the state for, oh I don’t know, a paycheck or something. Oh, and it’s going to kill this one dude:

[Garrett] Bonnema, who is visiting from Bethel, Maine, was greeted by closeD metal gates and orange-and-white traffic barriers when he showed up at Tyler State Park, in Newtown Township, Bucks County. Having been deprived of his walk, he suggested that the budget impasse ultimately could affect his health. “This is how I keep my stress level down when I’m here,” said the 60-year-old Bonnema, who is visiting his mother.

Well, I can see how visiting your mother would raise one’s stress level. Fortunately, the liquor store is open!

Budget impasse closes some offices, parks and museums [Inquirer]