by KYW's Tony Romeo
Governor Rendell went on a television call-in program on Wednesday night and took a beating from angry state workers who are facing the possibility of payless paydays should the budget impasse prove to be a long one.
Appearing on PCN, the Pennsylvania Cable Network, Governor Rendell again touted the program he set up with banks to provide no-interest and low interest loans and lines of credit for state workers:
“And I think we’ve got most of our workers covered, I guess the only ones that wouldn’t be covered by those plans, Francine, are those that have very bad credit.”
But the first call was one of several that came from state workers who can’t get a loan because of credit issues. And some callers – like Mark from Philadelphia – pulled no punches:
“During your tenure, you have talked about ‘world class government’ in Pennsylvania. That you have given us, sir. You have us third world class government.”
At the end, the tongue-lashings left the governor a bit chagrined but undaunted:
“Those people have people have been pretty angry, and have said some, I guess, nasty things. But after 32 years, I’ve heard them all.”
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