{"id":2355509,"date":"2024-10-16T07:57:02","date_gmt":"2024-10-16T11:57:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/who-to-thank-for-pennsylvanias-good-credit-rating-that-depends-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-10-16T08:02:34","modified_gmt":"2024-10-16T12:02:34","slug":"who-to-thank-for-pennsylvanias-good-credit-rating-that-depends-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/who-to-thank-for-pennsylvanias-good-credit-rating-that-depends-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Who to thank for Pennsylvania\u2019s good credit rating? That depends &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwho-to-thank-for-pennsylvanias-good-credit-rating-that-depends-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2355509&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Pennsylvania has recently experienced an upgrade in its financial credit \u200brating, which\u200b is expected\u200d to lead to better borrowing\u200d terms for the government, ultimately benefiting taxpayers and allowing for more funding for public\u200d services\u200c like education and infrastructure. Governor Josh Shapiro attributes this improvement to his administration&#8217;s \u2064efforts in navigating a divided legislature through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/retirement-age-rise-a-tough-political-sell-despite-social-security-funding-scare\/\" title=\"Raising retirement age a tough political sell despite Social Security funding scare.\">significant political challenges<\/a>. In the past 11 months, both Moody&#8217;s and Fitch Ratings\u200d have\u200c raised the \u200bstate&#8217;s credit scores, which has had positive implications for bond\u2064 refinancing, resulting in estimated savings for taxpayers.<\/p>\n<p>However, there\u2062 is contention regarding the credit rating&#8217;s causes. Some Republican lawmakers assert that the \u2063leadership&#8217;s focus on fiscal responsibility, \u2062particularly in limiting executive spending, is\u2062 the primary factor\u2064 for \u2064the rating upgrade. They argue that this\u2062 responsible management protected the state from financial instability. In contrast, Democrats point \u2064to the budget plan signed by\u2064 Shapiro, which invests \u2063significantly in \u200deducation and infrastructure, as foundational to the state\u2019s fiscal health. The\u2063 Republican-controlled Senate and the Democratic-led House collaborated on this\u2062 plan, which many\u200c worry could deplete the \u2063state&#8217;s surplus prematurely\u2064 if <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-american-families-plan-is-far-from-a-new-deal-economic-boon\/\" title=\"Biden\u2019s \u2018American Families Plan\u2019 Is Far From a New Deal Economic Boon\">spending continues<\/a> at the \u200ccurrent rate.\u200c there is a complex discussion\u200c around credit rating improvements, fiscal responsibility, and \u200dthe implications of recent state spending.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Who to thank for Pennsylvania&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidenomics-americans-falling-behind-on-auto-payments-at-record-rate-mass-repossessions-looming\/\" title=\"Bidenomics: Record Auto Payment Delinquencies, Mass Repossessions Imminent\">good credit rating<\/a>? That depends<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1836543\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>(The Center Square) &ndash; Pennsylvania&rsquo;s financial credit rating just rose again, meaning the government will get better interest rates when borrowing money, just like taxpayers.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>And, theoretically, that means more money left to spend on schools, roads and public services. It&rsquo;s all well and good for lawmakers, as long as credit is given where credit is due.<\/p>\n<p>For Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/twitter-suspends-conservative-pundit-allie-beth-stuckey-for-stating-that-transgender-weightlifter-is-a-man\/\" title=\"Twitter Suspends Conservative Pundit Allie Beth Stuckey For Stating That Transgender Weightlifter is a Man\">means acknowledging<\/a> his efforts to shepherd the divided Legislature through politically charged impasses. According to his administration, that&rsquo;s why Moody&rsquo;s Ratings and Fitch Ratings both boosted the state&rsquo;s credit scores over the last 11 months.<\/p>\n<p>And those upgrades meant better bond refinancing rates,&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pa.gov\/en\/governor\/newsroom\/press-releases\/commonwealth-conducts-successful-bond-sale-.html\">such as one the state secured in December<\/a><\/strong>. At the time, it was estimated the transaction would save taxpayers between $6 million and $12 million. A similar bond sale is slated for later this month.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Pennsylvania is clearly on a strong path toward continued economic and financial success,&rdquo; Secretary of the Budget Uri Monson said on Oct. 8. &ldquo;Our responsible investments and sound management are keeping the Commonwealth on solid fiscal footing while providing critical support to Pennsylvanians.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Revisionist history according to at least one Senate lawmaker who says Republican leadership&rsquo;s savings demands have so far kept the state from falling off a proverbial &ldquo;fiscal cliff.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The fiscally responsible manner in which the&nbsp;Senate Republican caucus has held the line against excessive executive branch spending&nbsp;is precisely what Moody&rsquo;s identified as the actual catalyst for Pennsylvania&rsquo;s credit rating upgrade,&rdquo; said Sen. Cris Dush, R-Brookville. &ldquo;This is in sharp contrast to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-real-winner-of-last-nights-debate-was-gavin-newsom\/\" title=\"The Real Winner Of Last Night\u2019s Debate Was Gavin Newsom\">governor&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s unsustainable spending demands and his&nbsp;frequent, fiscally irresponsible attempts to deplete the&nbsp;Commonwealth&rsquo;s now fiscally stable and growing Rainy Day Fund.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In July,&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/pennsylvania\/article_efd6e1e4-4055-11ef-b842-93bcf8ec0562.html\">Shapiro signed a $47.6 billion budget plan<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;that spends an extra $1 billion on education, implements tax and regulatory reforms for businesses, and infuses $80 million into mass transit systems that continue to hemorrhage money postpandemic.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans, who control the Senate, negotiated the deal with the Democratic-led House and governor&rsquo;s administration. In its aftermath, they said it pared down a more ambitious &ldquo;rainbows and unicorns&rdquo; plan proposed in February and will grow state tax revenues to support $2.7 billion more in government spending overall.<\/p>\n<p>The new appropriations, however, have been forecast to reduce the state&rsquo;s surplus account from $8.1 billion to $3.5 billion in less than two years. The spending pace means lawmakers worry they may be forced to raid the state&rsquo;s $7 billion emergency savings account in the next two years.<\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s not far from&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/ratings.moodys.com\/ratings-news\/430146\">the minds of Moody&rsquo;s credit advisors<\/a><\/strong>, either, who noted that &ldquo;ineffective governance,&rdquo; an underperforming economy and the ever-present structural imbalance &ndash; like the one Pennsylvania&rsquo;s carried for years &ndash; could lead to a future downgrade.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Scott Martin, R-Strasburg, although happy about the upgrade, pointed to the state&rsquo;s continued need for cautionary spending; Moody&rsquo;s labeled Pennsylvania&rsquo;s financial outlook as stable, rather than positive.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We have worked very hard to achieve these credit rating upgrades that save taxpayers huge amounts of money, and we owe it to taxpayers to continue to manage their money wisely,&rdquo;&nbsp;he&nbsp;said.<\/p>\n<p>The newest Moody&rsquo;s rating of Aa2 is the highest it&rsquo;s been&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreasury.gov\/transparency\/fiscal-health-credit.php\">after holding steady at Aa3 for the last decade<\/a><\/strong>. New York, Ohio and Virginia have maintained higher credit ratings during the same time period. New Jersey has consistently ranked below Pennsylvania since 2014.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1836543\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1836543\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Who deserves credit for Pennsylvania&#8217;s improved rating<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2355510,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Pennsylvania_Legislature_Campaign_1.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[43105,10680,5836,5894,32076],"class_list":["post-2355509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-credit-rating","tag-finance","tag-pennsylvania","tag-politics","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Pennsylvania_Legislature_Campaign_1.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2355509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2355509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2355509\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2355510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2355509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2355509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2355509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}