TRAP (Taxpayer Rights Assault Plan) is our name for the arbitrary spending caps that Republicans are trying to impose on Pennsylvania. Click on any link on the left to get more details.

On Nov. 1, 2005, voters approved undoing much of the damage done by similar caps in Colorado. Democrats and Republicans worked together on that effort.

Pennsylvania doesn’t need to repeat Colorado’s failed experiment with caps – Pennsylvania is already below-average in spending. In 2003 the state ranked 26th in per capita spending, and over 30 years Pennsylvania state spending has averaged less than a 3 percent increase annually.

Our state has the smallest state government workforce per capita in the nation. Out of the 41 states that have a personal income tax, Pennsylvania has the second lowest personal income tax rate in the country. Pennsylvania’s state and local tax burden is also relatively low: 24th highest out of 50 states.

Many costs that state government has to deal with rise faster than inflation – health care, prisons, services for the elderly, education, to name a few, and in recent years, Washington has saddled states with billions of dollars in additional cuts in federal funding