>> budgets, taxes cigarettes, pensions, wolf on a tear, inside stories starts now. good morning everyone, i'm matt o'donnell. it is sunday, july 6, 2014, happy birthday america. we have g. terry madonna from the franklin and marshall poll. brian tierney. welcome back, rene amoore. it's been a biz week in --

a busy week in harrisburg, governor corbett has not passed a budget. the legislature will likely pass a bill later this week that will likely allow philadelphia raise cigarette tax, city leaders are rejoycing, but some wondering will it fill the budget. do you think they have enough. >> i don't think they have everything they need. the critical ingredient is not pension reform, what the governor is saying for public school teachers new ones that are hired are for new people we cannot give them the same pension because we're going broke. you would thing he was trying to shoot new puppies in the parking lot. if you work there, nothing changes. when you see those professional

protesters they should be up for the construction screen actors . >> do you think pension reform, terry will happen before the november election? >> here's the situation, the cigarette tax was passed by the house, the senate has to come this weekend to approve it. looks like they will. they passed it in another bill, cigarette tax is done. the pension was sent to the human services committee chaired by the bucks county house member who doesn't like the pension plan that brian is talking about. they kicked it out of committee so they could vote on it this fall. the question is there are 1 to 15 republicans who won't vote for and a single democrat is willing to vote for the pension

plan. somebody had a to give. -- somebody has to give. i'm going to ask question will philadelphia democrats give corbett and the republicans some love because the leadership of the house republicans gave them the cigarette tax. >> what you do think? >> i'll let rene answer. >> reporter: i love the way you two explained it. the bottom line the governor is reaching across the aisle speaking to the democrats, because he needs their support, because some of the republicans ain't going to do it. let me be real real clear, the question is, i spoke to hughes and other folks, they were saying rene we're doing the best we can, but at least we're talking, i'm happen about that, they got to talk. i think it might work. aim prayerful let me say that. >> what do you think of the dynamic here where corbett has

enjoyed a republican controlled legislature and time and time again on big issues they are budget heads as if they are from different parties. >> you have to search your memory for a great extent for someone with that accumulation of power is incapable of wielding it the way he wants. more of the complaints that you will hear have to do with just the problems that republicans in the house and the senate have with the governor from the democrats. it's a very bad combination. it's inconflictable to have -- have -- -- last year in the house, the current budget not a single democrat voted for it. i've never seen levels of

partisanship. when you turn to the house, the republicans are fracture between the tea party types, 25 or 35 of them. the moderate republicans down in the philadelphia suburbs are not on the same page. the leadership of the republican party can't get their own members together and the house republicans and the senate republicans are not only the same page and the democrats are not helpful. >> do you will a meant the days when vince fumo had the dealer aspect and orioles perzel who ended up getting in trouble, but were able to bring people together and pass legislation. >> we're missing the ability of folks who can kind of -- one of part of it with the governor, he gave away these grants. >> almost like earmarks. >> folks close to the governor

regret doing that. >> that was the leveragage. >> that was the grease for the machinery. i do think the governor has communications challenges, i think he is getting better, when you talk about pension reform, it is nebulous. he is saying for new school teachers they can't get the pension. >> you never want to give up anything you already have. >> he is saying the guy we higher next week, next month. >> the union, say, hey -- the unions somebody should say, what they would rather do, the heads of teachers union would rather jam kids in the classroom and layoff their own people and trapped the kids to the railroad tracks to use mayor nutter's analogy, they would rather do that than do the same thing.

the fact of the matter the city on debt service is spending 5 cents, 10, 12 years ago, they are spending 20 cents. this can't go on forever. by the way have you heard about detroit? >> this is unsustainable, the blue mobile has collapsed. the places that will become boston will 0 figure out out how to fix it. >> matt you used the word enjoyable because the republicans have the house and the senate. the governor had a difficult time, the communication, about the whams you give to get. you give to get. and that's not happening, people are saying okay that's how you want to play it, this is where i'm at. >> here's reality when you got unemployment in pennsylvania was almost 8%, it's 5.6%.

compared to new jersey, it's 20% higher unemployment in new jersey, 6.8. there's a lot of things that people need to -- and hopefully the numbers will get out. >> the franklin and marshall poll released 502 registered voters taken june 23 to june 29. the rails for the governor, the -- 9 race of the governor, the battle of to himself. tom wolf winning, undecided is large at 27%. let's talk about this, we've been talking about the budget and how things are not happening. >> they are all related. >> here's the problem, the legislature has not given in one sense governor corbett's big agenda items. every governor seeking re-election from milton shap to

ed rendell goes to the voters and says when you elected me, i agreed to do a, b, and c. govenor corbett is going to the voters to say i want four more years to do a, b, and c. the govenors in the past can say i've had these big successes. the other problem is penn state hurting him among republicans in the heartland. go back to something these two said, renee and brian which is the communication challenges the governor has. the last problem is the general economy is tough, there's still too many people feel the state is moving in the wrong direction, i think that's a function of jobs and not big pay hikes and people struggling, no sense that we've turned the corner on the recession. >> as we continue this discussion here, another thing that you found here with your

poll, terry, those who believe corbett deserves re-election, 26%. almost 3 quarters. >> that's right, and many of them are republicans, i agree with brian, i think the governor has done a better job in recent months campaigning. better on message. when you introduce the candidate and the candidate flubs up, you can make do, you know this, you can figure out a way to rehaven't him. >> 4 -- reinvent him. >> four months. >> who is tom wolf? he is this thing that voters is projecting, i'm wondering if i have his cabinets in my house. as this campaign engages and you look at his record and lack of

experience, if i was the governor and advising the governor, i would be talking about less taxes and more jobs, we're one of the leaders in the country in terms of jobs, more people are working in pennsylvania than before. 8% to 5.6%. other states like jersey don't have that accomplishment. don't try to say ten things, focus the message and define wolf. >> do you see parallels where former councilman night nutter and tom wolf this is a person whose going to solve our our problems and the recession hits and it's a different ballgame. >> absolutely, the jeep can't vote, the jeep and the website.

brian is on target, the govern has to give the messiage, -- message, the republicans have to buy in. >> tom wolf wants to tax the natural gas companies that would raise the money for a budget that needs more money. >> then you have to ask are you just feeding the beast and will spending continue unrestrained. you can always tax people, by the way there are finite limits in terms of taxation, at some point, someone whose business isn't oil or natural gas, may say i don't want to go there, they got lured in and then they got as you as you suckered and t

slammed. there are almost of his program that have been successful. >> he was born in philadelphia. >> hahnemann hospital. >> he grew up in overbrook park. he was baptized at our ladies of lords. he was a public school teacher. he was a member of the young. of all the people who have a prospective of public schools, perhaps i have something i can say to this. >> i want to mention one more thing from your poll here. >> this may surprise you, but people do not support medical marijuana in the state. 84% that's medical marijuana. this is not colorado. does that surprise anyone? >> i asked that question for the first time in 2006 and large majority supported medical marijuana. the way we asked the question,

if prescribed by a physician. it's overwhelming supported. the governor indicated he wants a pilot program for it, but again, i think we're back to the state house, which seems reluctant to do this. this is very popular with the voters. >> medical marijuana, pennsylvania potentially, colorado is here. >> only 35% of pennsylvania voters support the legallation of recreational pot. the legislature is not going to do it in a deck aided or so. it's not -- in a decade or so. it's not going to happen. it's popular and it would be a political boost. >> as we go to the break, we get a republican do you think things will change change in

>> back with inside story, pennsylvania district attorneys rebuke state attorney general cat cat. the leadership of pa district association criticizing cat -- kathleen kane continued public attack on prosecutors. kane said she misspoke saying prosecutors never brought

charges with a particular victim when they had. d.a.s who work under the state attorney general rebuking the attorney general, are you stunned by this criticism? >> absolutely not, she was the fair haired woman for for the democratic party. people lined up to see her at the pennsylvania society. her own party is upset with her. she does not know what she is doing, i'm not surprised it will continue, and if she runs again she will not win. >> she made a very good case for not having an elected attorney general and having one pointed quite frankly. >> some states do that. >> we did it, we have appointed until 1980. the first one was elected in 1980. she was politicized in the way she has gone about her work.

in some cases if she doesn't like the law she won't enforce it. >> she won more votes than president obama statewide. >> and bob casey. >> she was not ready for this job, she comes from a wealthy family, she was a woman and breath of fresh air, people projecting all that you want, like tom wolf and the reality sets in she is now being criticize sized by he democrat, seth williams in philadelphia. all the district attorneys. she said something one day contradicts it, if you have to say of the visual asking for a meeting of the editorial meeting with the philadelphia inquirer going in with her attorney and refusing to talk to them.

it looked like a saturday night live skit. >> it's bullying. >> she has 2 1/2 years left on her term. is it time to talk about a party challenge? >> i'm ready. >> it wouldn't shock me if a certain guy named seth williams would run against her. >> you just named him by the way way. >> no kidding. >> given the animosity and the antithesis i think they would deny it is personal, but it has a personal aspect to it. number one what's fascinating to me, i can't find any democrats who are out defending her. that's what's striking. now in her defense she did allow the moulton report to come out, even though it disapproved it helped her get elected which tom

corbett played politics with the sandusky investigation. that's the argument she used to get elected. >> she had to put that out. >> but the point she allowed the report. you would have thought she would have sandbagged it in some way. i don't disagree, i don't remember an attorney general going back to leroy zimmerman up to today who have been involved in that many controversy, very few working in her favor. >> whoever was advising her, you would need to say we need a clean slate. >> is there time? >> her sister. >> is there time, brian we're talking with corbett, there's four months, there's more than half of her term. >> she needs to turn down the

volume and come across as a little more stable, to be honest with you, she comes across unstable. she has to act less impulsively and have a game plan. yank of an elective official statewide who had a worse start. >> governor christie signed in the nick of time, veto a millionaires tax in the state. he went against democrat wishes to make smaller payments to the state pension system. how does new jersey pass their budget on time, even though the governor disagrees with the legislature and you have a republican governor and democratic legislature and yet you have the opposite happen in pennsylvania. >> because in one sense they have to keep other honest throughout the entire process, you can't presume you're going to get support.

christie gets into a granular level when he is doing his horse trading. like all icebergs, 80% of the problem is below the water line. they have a significant budget problem. their unfunded pension liabilities are the things they are not going to disregard as time goings on. >> seems like they kicked the can down the road by in the putting enough funding into the pension. governor corbett is not kicking the can down the road, because the problems get worse and worse. >> should he have done that in the beginning of his campaign. >> he actually inherited the pension, he didn't campaign on that, he inherited it, it's a festing problem, $49 billion in

debt heading to $60 billion. there are various ways to involve it. the democrats have another plan let's borrow the money and lower the interest rates and let reforms that were pass four or five years ago and work through the system. >> got to go, break.

>> inside stories of the week we start with terry. >> this may come as a big surprise there's a big sigh of relief in harrisburg and elsewhere among 75,000 state workers, they don't have to worry about layoffs, they get a 2% raise this week and 2 1/2 in january. the workforce should be happy under the governor's control. >> cautionary note for governments who want to get

revenue from taxing vices. revenue from slot machines in pennsylvania casinos have declined, be careful how you built that budget, the expectation may not be met. >> resolve that the state is spending more money for local schools than they were when rendell state per state. the question is what's the extra money. the obama boom money, the economic incentive money that was sent. most of the schools said this is one time money, we'll fix our roofs. philadelphia gave pay raises. if up one $1,000 would you buy a home or fix the roof? there's a association where universities have grants that will help students to pay their tuitions which a good thing. >> thank you for being here, i

look forward to seeing you once again, i'm matt o'donnell we'll see you next week on inside story, i'll see you monday morning on "action news" at 4:30 a.m. i'm nydia han along with eva pilgrim. >> coming up next on "action news," a southwest philadelphia church is trying to bring comfort to families hit by a devastating fire this weekend. we'll hear from a pastor in a live report. >> new at noon, police in delaware have arrested a man for firing at them. >> in "healthcheck," no warnings for parents of babies who are teething. those stories and the accuweather forecast

[ horns honking ] people are so impatient, right? you know what it is? it's waiting. 10 minutes or 10 hours, people don't like waiting. you know, at comcast, we don't want you to wait at all.

with our new xfinity my account app, you can troubleshoot technical issues, request a callback, or check with an expert via twitter. can you wait just a second? hey, can you move, please?! i hate sheep. [ male announcer ] introducing the xfinity my account app. it's a whole new day at comcast. hold us to it. ♪ >> good afternoon, it is sunday, july 6, i'm nydia han along with eva pilgrim. >> here's some of the stories we're following on "action news," a southwest philadelphia church is working to help families hit by a devastating fire this weekend. >> firefighters in trenton were busy overnight battling a