The state legislature is huge and expensive...but where is Bob Robbins?

Of all the reasons to vote Bob Robbins out of office this year--and there are plenty--one of the biggest is his utter failure to commit to downsizing the state legislature. There is a great deal of support for the idea; in fact, a recent grand jury investigation concluded, among other things, that Pennsylvania's state lawmakers simply aren't doing full-time jobs--even though they get paid as if they do. For instance, the grand jury report showed that lawmakers in 2010 only had 30 active session days--from January until May of this year. The grand jury also recommended term limits, elimination of "per diem" accounts for state representatives, and new ethics standards regarding legislative staff taking paid leave to work on campaigns.

If Bob Robbins were a conservative--heck, if he had any fiscal common sense at all--he would support all of these reforms, and then some.

But, of course, we know that Sen. Robbins cares nothing about reforming Harrisburg. His record shows a complete lack of dedication or support for reform measures.

When I asked him, via an email query this past June, whether his staffers had taken paid leave to work on his campaign, I received a terse reply, directing me to some obscure office in Harrisburg. Why couldn't Robbins have just answered the question himself? Or is his huge staff--his website lists 11 people working in three different offices--that hard to keep track of?

It shouldn't be. In fact, we shouldn't have career politicians like Bob Robbins at all. While Pennsylvanians remain unemployed, and at particularly high rates in Mercer County, Sen. Robbins is grabbing all he can get for himself (not to mention voting for a "budget" that pulls future revenues out of thin air).

You would think that, by now, Bob Robbins would have figured out that his constituency wants to see government reformed. We need efficiency in Harrisburg. Other states have part-time legislatures, and they not only do just fine, they actually work harder and get more done. Texas, as big as it is, has a part-time legislature, for instance.

Why hasn't Bob Robbins spoken out in support of the recent grand jury findings? Why won't he answer simple questions about how his staff gets paid? The only thing that taxpayers can conclude is that Robbins just wants to keep things as they are. The grand jury report stated that moving to a part-time legislature would save 10 million dollars in lawmakers' salaries alone.

How can any state lawmaker, in good conscience, not back these recommendations? We can only imagine that Sen. Robbins, with a disgraceful lust for money, just doesn't care if he makes more than twice the area's median salary for only doing a part-time job. But he's the one that has to look voters in the eye and tell them why he is silent on reforming Harrisburg.

That's a message that, this year of all years, proves without a doubt that Bob Robbins isn't listening to us.