Letters: PSU plans headed in different directions; The time is now to lower the PIT

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PSU plans headed in different directions

The recent announcement of a nearly $100 million budget cut to Penn State academic/support programs is a sobering but long overdue action. The majority of this reduction affects our 20 Commonwealth Campus, which have sustained a 1/3 reduction in enrollment over the past decade. But, at the same time our football program, with board approval, is planning on spending 3/4 billion on the refit of Beaver Stadium. Clearly, these two businesses are headed in different directions.

In my view, the decline of enrollment at our regional campuses is a symptom of a larger issue. Penn State, apparently, is no longer the premier college choice among Pennsylvania families, as reflected in our yield. Yield is the percentage of students who are offered admission and subsequently enroll. PSU (University Park) ranks last in the Big 10 at 19% (Michigan is 46%). This means 4 out of 5 students who are offered admission (University Park) matriculate elsewhere. Addressing (and owning) this issue should be our board’s overriding strategic priority.

And maybe our board could show leadership and innovation by actually funneling some football revenues into PSU enrollment/retention programs. A start here may be to emulate Michigan, which provides free football tickets to first-year students (“to improve student engagement”) at their Dearborn regional campus (think Altoona, Dubois, etc.) And imagine the positive impact among faculty, alumni and PA legislators (and the national reverberations) if 1% of football revenues supported scholarships for students in need.

Al Soyster, Boalsburg

The time is now to lower the PIT

Last year, the General Assembly lowered the Corporate Net Income Tax, a move that makes our commonwealth more business friendly. I worked with a lot of company owners to advocate for lowering the CNI. There’s more to do to make our state more business friendly but this is a needed step.

Additionally, in the legislation to lower the CNI, Pennsylvania now conforms to the federal deduction allowance, a move that helps small businesses and their employees as it encourages wage growth and increasing productivity.

Now that the business community scored a win, let’s help our taxpaying citizens by lowering the Personal Income Tax from 3.07 to 2.78. It’s not a drastic drop, but with growing inflation and increasing costs every dollar that people can keep helps.

To the tax-and-spend legislators, don’t worry about a loss in tax revenue by lowering the PIT. This loss will be offset because our state enacted business-friendly measures, highlighted by the CNI annually dropping until 2031. These business measures will retain companies and encourage expansion, plus our state is more marketable to outside businesses. Lowering the CNI, coupled with other moves, shows that Pennsylvania is open for business.

We need Pennsylvanians to stay here. I know I want my daughters to enjoy this beautiful state and not look to head south after college. The time is now for legislators to act. When they come knocking to ask for your vote for the Primary and General Elections, tell them you want to be taxed less for what you earned.

Jon O’Brien, Dillsburg. The author is the executive director of Keystone Contractors Association and General Contractors Association of PA.