The Republican governor said state government was facing a $4 billion annual deficit because it has "outspent revenue." But he said that taxing business should not be used to balance the budget or jump-start the economy.
"During the [2010 gubernatorial] campaign, businesses throughout Pennsylvania said to me, 'We can't take any more taxes. We're taxed enough,' " Corbett said. "It's like digging a hole, and we would keep digging the hole deeper by more taxes.
"I want to see businesses provide jobs to people, not government providing jobs to people," he said. "We have to reduce the size of government, and we have to cut back spending."
Corbett's fiscal 2012 budget proposal contains no tax or fee increases, and cuts government spending 3 percent, most of which he wants done through consolidating programs, targeting inefficiencies, and reducing or eliminating discretionary financial grants. The legislature and the governor must agree on a budget by June 30 for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
"Not many are happy with my budget," he said at a news conference after the Secant tour. "But we have no money. You can't spend money you don't have.
"Unless we cut spending, we can't get out of this. We don't have the stimulus money anymore. It's very important that we get the economy back on track."
Corbett praised Prodesco, the Perkasie-based parent company of Secant, which recently acquired the 40,000-square-foot plant in Quakertown to expand its business. The facility is in a developing industrial park.
"It's great to see what Pennsylvanians can do that will have an effect on the world," Corbett said. "I was able to see what synthetic silk can be turned into to help people's health. Who knows what we can do and invent next?"
