Letters: What’s the impact of Penn State’s debt?; PA must continue to invest in innovation

What’s the impact of Penn State’s debt?

This month, PSU authorized the spending of $85 Million ($65 million of it in new debt) to replace the Palmer Museum of Art — despite the fact that the existing Palmer is more than sufficient to meet PSU’s missions as a university.

Every obtuse rationalization imaginable was used to justify this expenditure, including Trustee Rob Fenza stating that a new museum would help PSU recover from “COVID.” What?

When questioned, President Eric Barron said: It won’t really cost anything. We’ll just divert some money from Athletics.

Of course, this is all a shell game. Athletics doesn’t have the money to pay its own bills — let alone to serve as a piggybank for Barron’s vanity projects. Just last month, PSU took on another $50 million of debt — to pay for the most recent phase of the Football Building renovations. Money borrowed by the university, because Athletics doesn’t have any.

Neither entity — the University at large, nor, obviously, PSU Athletics, has the funds to pay for these projects. The only source for these funds is borrowing. And the only revenue available to pay off that debt is tuition.

To pay off PSU’s current long-term debt – even if interest rates were 0%, and even if PSU never borrowed another dime – every undergraduate student at University Park would be burdened with a $4,000 annual tuition increase, for the next 23 years.

We Are…

Pennsylvania must continue to invest in innovation

As COVID-19 enters a new phase and vaccines continue to make their way into communities across the commonwealth, Pennsylvania is in a race to economic recovery.

From the very first days of this pandemic, Ben Franklin Technology Partners has been working to address this public health issue.

Our clients have designed new products, retooled manufacturing lines to produce critical medical supplies, and put in place support mechanisms to keep people safe.

Innovation has proven to be key in our response to this pandemic, and it must remain central to our recovery.

In May, the state provided $1 million to each of the four statewide Ben Franklin centers to invest in promising clients who were experiencing hardships due to the impact of COVID-19.

The Governor’s $14.5 million proposal for the 2021-22 fiscal year would keep Ben Franklin’s base appropriation level. We appreciate the support, but more must be done. Ben Franklin needs a minimum of $5 million more to keep pace.

Other states are aware that technology represents a path forward. Ohio just created Innovation Districts with investments totaling more than $600 million to support entrepreneurs. New Jersey has an Innovation Evergreen Fund, which is expected to grow to $500 million to support high-tech startups.

Now more than ever, Pennsylvania’s budget must continue to invest in innovation, not only to fully restart and grow our economy, but to help us remain competitive in the post-pandemic world.

Questions remain for GOP lawmakers

Pulitzer Prize winning historian Jon Meacham has written books about Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. He has the respect of both parties, having written an authorized biography of Republican President George H. W. Bush and currently serving as speechwriter for Democratic President Joe Biden.

He knows U.S. history when he says, “We came as close to losing the country as we know it on January 6 as we have since the Civil War.”

He is equally firm in his opinion that “The Republican Party has descended into fantasy, conspiracy and falsehoods.”

We all saw the horror that happened on Jan. 6 during the Trump-inflamed attack and insurrection. Now we watch in dismay as Republicans in statehouses across the country ignore any pretense of enlightened government and enact laws to suppress voting, simply because they can.

Meacham cuts through the politics and tells it like it is.

Congressmen Thompson and Keller, Senator Corman, and Representative Benninghoff: Why won’t you speak up? Do you support what your party is doing and what it has become? What are you thinking? Are you thinking?

Thompson and Keller, why won’t you explain your actions that led directly to the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6? Corman and Benninghoff, why won’t you speak up against state voter suppression laws?

Historian Meacham knows the classic American slogan that tells us what we must do to stop this political madness: “Throw the bums out!”

We will have our chance next year.