The time-honored ritual unfolds annually in early February - the governor of Pennsylvania gives details of his budget proposals to both houses of the General Assembly.

Throughout the speech, legislative members of the governor's party applaud frequently, while members of the opposition party stare and sit stoically, applauding occasionally, but in the past, they also have booed.There was no booing Tuesday when Gov. Tom Wolf gave his budget address. Wolf was smart in bringing his mom to the event. After all, what politician in his or her right mind would boo a mother's son while mom was in the room?There was a much more conciliatory tone in Wolf's address. Last year, he told legislators if they were not willing to do their job, they should seek another line of work. You can imagine how that went over with the members of the Republican-dominated General Assembly.After the 2016 election, Republicans have a whopping 121-81 majority in the House, with one vacancy, the greatest in modern history, and a veto-proof 31-19 dominance in the Senate.What this means is that very little will get done in Harrisburg without Republican approval. The Republican leadership had some complimentary things to say about Wolf's message."We view this as a 180-degree turn for the governor," said House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana. Two years ago, Wolf proposed $12 billion in new tax increases, Reed said. One of the first things Wolf said this year was that he would not propose any changes in the state income and sales taxes.Senate President Pro Tem Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, said there is a long way to go before a final budget is adopted by the June 30 deadline. Two years ago, the budget process took a record-breaking nine months for passage. Last year, after Wolf was done licking his wounds, the budget process was completed just a month late.Locally, Republican freshman state Rep. Zach Mako, whose district includes Slatington and surrounding townships, said while there are parts of Wolf's plan he likes, such as no new broad-based tax increases, he also said the "devil is in the details.""My focus remains on my priorities of property tax reform, job creation and infrastructure improvements. Any final budget must rein in government spending," Mako said.State Sen. David Argall, R-Schuylkill, said, "Our goal should be to reduce the dependence on government programs across the board, shrink the size and scope of state government and, most importantly, reduce the burden on taxpayers."Argall is planning to introduce a bill to eliminate the school property taxes by adding to the state income and sales taxes.State Rep. Jerry Knowles, R-Schuylkill-Carbon, who supports Argall's tax-elimination plan, said the budget has many technical details, but, he added, "at the end of the day, it should be about one thing: ensuring Pennsylvanians' prosperity grows, rather than the government's."Knowles reiterated that he plans to work for the "total elimination" of school real estate taxes.State Sen. John Yudichak, D-Carbon and Luzerne, said as the budget conversation goes on, "working families and communities of northeastern Pennsylvania are going to be hurt if the partisan paralysis continues in Harrisburg and responsible solutions are not advanced to invest in jobs, cut property taxes and unleash a robust economy that creates opportunities for all Pennsylvanians."For the most part, we liked Wolf's budget theme, but we have some grave concerns about what we didn't hear, namely the one topic that has become 500-pound gorilla in the room - public pension reform, the costs of which have gone through the roof. This is a real and present danger.Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon, said, "While there is serious work to be done, I am optimistic about this year's budget process because all parties involved have finally acknowledged the tenuous position of our state's finances."Wolf and all 253 legislators know that the structural deficit the state is running is not sustainable."Households can't do that, and neither can we," Wolf said. The budget deficit is now pegged at about $3 billion.Wolf proposes the largest cuts, mergers of agencies and departments and consolidations in the commonwealth's history to bring about greater efficiencies. We are sure this will bring screams of anguish from special-interest groups and those who will complain that the cuts should be made elsewhere. Wolf's priorities are education and senior citizens.The budget process has always brought out the worst in Harrisburg. Politicians always found a way around making the tough decisions; special interests always found a way to avoid giving up their special privileges; taxpayers always wound up holding the bag.Let's see whether the resolve to do things differently this time means anything, or whether we are in for more of the same dreary finger-pointing that has gone on for years.By Bruce Frassinelli |

tneditor@tnonline.com