Reps. Joanna McClinton, Matt Bradford and Jordan Harris: Coming together for a brighter future for Pa.

It’s an unprecedented budget year for Pennsylvania, and for once the news is positive.

Separate of the nearly $3 billion in unspent federal stimulus dollars left over from last fiscal year, state revenues are now coming in $1.5 billion over estimate (and climbing). This budget snapshot shows us that when you put stimulus dollars to work — as President Biden has with the American Rescue Plan — the return on investment is strong.

Unfortunately, many of our Republican colleagues in the General Assembly are not being honest about our current financial reality.

In his op-ed ”Pa.’s out-of-control spending is driving away residents,” Nathan Benefield of the conservative think tank the Commonwealth Foundation states that Pennsylvania’s budget surplus “didn’t result from a strong economy and growing tax base,” and that “out of control spending” is driving key worker-aged populations out of state in search of better jobs.

Pennsylvania is indeed facing demographic challenges now and over the next several decades as our population ages amidst stagnant growth — on that, we agree there is no debate. But instead of continuing to hoard our budget surplus, what if Democrats and legislative Republicans came together to develop real, creative solutions to address these challenges? What if Republicans came out of their fiscal fetal position and went to work by investing the surplus in ways that put money back in our communities while growing the local economy?

As we continue our pandemic recovery, we need to make Pennsylvania more competitive by making smart investments and modernizing the way we do business. Propel PA, House Democrats’ plan for spurring economic growth and long-term success, is a blueprint to get us there.

Our plan invests in both workers and families. We can return money to taxpayers immediately by implementing a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), just like the federal government and 30 states already do. At just 30% of the federal version, we could provide a family of four (two adults plus two kids) with an additional $1,794 a year on top of their $5,980 federal tax credit. We should do the same thing for families with kids in child care through a state child and dependent care tax credit. At 30% of the federal version, that family of four would get an extra $1,800 on top of the $6,000 they already receive — helping to offset the exorbitantly high cost of child care and allowing parents to return to the workplace. We recall our Republican colleagues rightfully stating the need to grow the labor pool, so let’s do something about that.

We also need to ensure our economy is strong, and that starts with building a better climate for businesses that are considering Pennsylvania as a place to set up shop. We have one of the highest corporate net income tax rates in the nation, second only to New Jersey. We can immediately take this tax from the current 9.99% down to 6.99% as a way of rewarding Pennsylvania-based corporations that do business here. At the same time, we can join a majority of states that pursue businesses engaged in complex multistate tax schemes intended to avoid their state tax liability.

To truly grow our job base, we must expand innovation and preserve Pennsylvania’s role as a world leader in fast-growing, high-tech industries like biomedicine. We should allow these innovators to write off more of their initial investment by uncapping the Net Operating Loss. Doing so provides the right incentive for companies to partner in driving the future and economic expansion of Pennsylvania. As part of larger tax reform, Pennsylvania will no longer be one of two states that set a cap on this deduction. And if we want these companies to continue making groundbreaking discoveries and bringing innovative products — like vaccines — to market, Pennsylvania needs to increase the use of tax credits tied to research and development. Pro-growth Democrats and Republicans should work now to enact such policies without delay.

Finally, we can and should implement statewide paid sick and family leave and retirement savings programs for all working Pennsylvanians. Just like unemployment compensation, these initiatives can be employee-funded through simple payroll deductions. Providing such benefits come at zero cost to the employer, and help businesses save money on turnover and training costs. These policies have bipartisan support because they simply make good business sense and are the right thing to do, so let’s get it done.

Pennsylvania is already situated for success in many ways, but we can make it easier to do business here through strategic investments in our workforce and a focus on creating and retaining high-quality, well-paying jobs. Pennsylvania can and should be a place where employers want to be and where workers feel valued. What we can never do, however, is “make Pennsylvania the economically desirable, destination state it deserves to be” by continuing to do nothing at all. Propel PA is the smart path forward.

Rep. Joanna McClinton is Pennsylvania House Democratic Leader. Rep. Matt Bradford is Pennsylvania House Democratic Appropriations Chair. Rep. Jordan Harris is Pennsylvania House Democratic Whip.