Readers share their wishlist for Pennsylvania Dems
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
Raising the minimum wage is at the top of Axios readers' wish list for Pennsylvania's new Democratic-led state government to address.
By the numbers: 40% of the more than 260 responses to our poll last week called for lawmakers to boost the floor for worker take-home pay. Other top agenda items were:
- 🚇 More funding for public transit — 20%
- 🌿 Legalizing recreational cannabis — 10%
- ❌ Data center moratorium — 6%
Catch up quick: Pennsylvania Dems swept the the governor's mansion, state House and Senate in this month's election.
- That will give the party full control of state government starting in January.
Between the lines: State Dems have been calling to increase the state's $7.25 minimum wage for a long time.
- Plus: Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro pledged on WURD radio last week that the first bill sent to his desk in January will be to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
- Yes, but: We'll see how quickly progressive and moderate Dems can agree on a number and how quickly the state should phase in that increase.
What else: A good chunk of respondents (15%) wrote in their own wish list item for Dems to tackle.
- ✅ Many called for Pennsylvania to have an open primary system, where voters of any affiliation can cast ballots in the primary of any party.
- As of now, Pennsylvania's primaries are closed, so only registered Democrats and Republicans can vote in their party's primary.
Other priorities readers suggested included:
- 🗳️ Adopting the the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact
- ✋ Gun control
- ⏳ Term limits for state and local elected office
🗣️ What you're saying: Here are some of our favorite responses from the survey:
- Pennsylvania's minimum wage is an embarrassment.
- The future of the state depends on a functional transit system.
- Protecting and expanding abortion rights is a legislative action that protects the health and welfare of women and doesn't require an infusion of cash. It feels like an easy early win.
- Get rid of the state's uniformity clause — which requires all local and state taxes be flat and apply to all taxpayers equally — to allow for a more progressive tax code.