State Treasurer Stacy Garrity said that she has not received the support she had hoped for from the Republican apparatus around the state and the country.
“Of course I don’t,” she said in response to a question. “That’s okay. We’re getting our message out. We have enough, and we’re on TV, and it’s all good. We’re getting a great reception.”
Garrity toured the Henry Molded Products plant in Lebanon on Monday and spoke to media afterward.
She made her pitch that Pennsylvania should leverage its natural resources, specifically the Marcellus Shale, to drive down manufacturing costs and create an estimated 200,000 jobs. Garrity criticized the Shapiro administration for subverting natural gas production, saying it hinders Pennsylvania’s ability to compete with neighbors such as Ohio and West Virginia.
On the topic of skill games, Garrity expressed support for small businesses like VFWs and fire halls that rely on the revenue, proposing a regulated framework, such as a $500 per machine monthly fee, to find a middle ground between gaming operators and casinos.
“I am on the side of small businesses,” she said, “our VFW’s, our Legions, our fire halls. Josh Shapiro is on the side of the casinos. Why does Shapiro want to tax them at 52 percent? Because he is in the pockets of the casinos. One of his biggest benefactors is Michael Rubin, who is the CEO of Fanatics, and owns a casino. So Josh Shapiro is on the side of casinos. I am on the side of veterans, our volunteer fire departments, and our small businesses.”
She spoke about educational opportunity and the need for the state to keep college students to stay in the Commonwealth after graduation.
“Folks are leaving because they feel like there’s not enough opportunity here,” she said. “It doesn’t matter which county I’m in, though, everybody says the same thing.
“They want their children, their grandchildren, to stay in Pennsylvania, to work in Pennsylvania, raise their families in Pennsylvania, start businesses in Pennsylvania, and so when we unleash our energy that we have right under our feet, that creates 200,000, and this is a conservative estimate, creates 200,000 good-paying, family-sustaining jobs generating five to $6 billion in revenue.”
State Rep. John Schlegel (R-Lebanon) said that it is vital for the state to alert high school graduates that they are wanted in Pennsylvania.
“We want you to help grow the economy in Pennsylvania, to live in Pennsylvania, raise a family,” he said. “So we provided some incentives. You know that the Grow PA program is a great example. It starts in in the K-12 school systems to to educate kids about all the job opportunities that are available, and they’re career-sustaining types, they’re good-paying jobs to raise a family here.
“Those that require higher education, there’s now that connectedness where we want to provide some financial incentive for our kids to get educated in Pennsylvania, and then in turn they will agree to graduate in those high workforce sectors.”
When asked about a plan to keep graduates in the state after the completion of their studies, the Treasurer said that Pennsylvania cannot continue to throw more money at education problems.
“When you come from the private sector, you can’t just throw more money at things and think that you’re going to get a different result, and a perfect example is our education,” said Garrity. “Right now, we’ve spent $3 billion more than when he came into office. Yes, we rank top 10 in spending. We do not rank top 10 in outcomes. Seven out of our 10 of our eighth-graders cannot read or do math at grade level. We don’t even opt into the federal school choice, which is hundreds of millions of dollars in educational opportunities for our kids. So the bottom line is, we have to look at spending across the board.”
Rep. Dan Meuser (R-09) criticized Shapiro for not doing more to combat waste, abuse and fraud.
“What was the last time you ever heard Josh Shapiro ever use that phrase, return on investment,” he said. Josh Shapiro fights us, as do many Democrats in the House and the Senate on waste, abuse, and fraud, which is hard to believe, but they do. Stacy Garrity is bringing a vision, a plan, and ability to execute to the governor’s office.
“What’s Shapiro’s plan? Get stuff done. Well, try to name a couple of things that get stuff done. With the management and the operation and everything that goes into what you do (here at Henry), that needs to be done that much more so on the fifth largest state in in our nation. And Stacy’s got the plan, and man, oh man, I can’t wait for November 4 when we can start initiating it.”
