How Bob Robbins has Failed Us

It is telling that State Senator Bob Robbins (50th district) is officially now both a Republican and a Democrat. The career politician has cared little about reforming Harrisburg. Instead of crafting bold policies that would save taxpayers money, Robbins is constantly in campaign mode, always on the lookout for himself and how he can stay in office. Despite his high-ranking position in the Senate, Robbins has failed to provide any meaningful policy initiatives.

But just how badly has Bob Robbins failed us? Let us count just a few of the ways:

-Robbins has done nothing to reform the massively wasteful Pennsylvania Department of Transportation; in addition, years after tolls should have ended, riders on the PA Turnpike continue to pay exorbitant fees, much of which goes toward paying above-market labor costs for toll collectors.

-Robbins refuses to introduce badly-needed legislation that would reduce the size of the legislature itself. Pennsylvania is about 1/4 the size of Texas, yet Texas passes more legislation than the Keystone State, and with a part-time legislature to boot, according to a Commonwealth Foundation study.

-Robbins continues to dole out state pork (also known as taxpayers' money) as if it were his own private piggy bank. He engineered a shameful $700,000 grant to the Borough of Grove City for downtown revitalization (also known as new bricks in the sidewalks), despite the fact that the borough never even requested the money. More recently, Robbins has bragged about securing over $100,000 in "Growing Greener" grants for such pressing issues as "the formation of the Cool Spring Creek Watershed Association."

-Robbins is nowhere to be found on job creation. Other than inflated figures for jobs he has purported help to create through state grants-- we know that income redistribution actually destroys, rather than creates jobs, of course--Robbins has not led even one single policy initiative to aid small businesses or to ease the state's regulatory burdens on business owners.

It has become more clear than ever that Robbins is simply about staying in office as long as possible, but little else. We'll never have sensible reform in Harrisburg while Bob Robbins remains our state senator.