CR's Attend GOP Dinner

Thursday evening members of the Seton Hill College Republicans attended the Fall Westmoreland GOP banquet at the Mountain View Inn. The dinner featured speeches from Diana Irey, Representative Tim Murphy, GOP chairman Rob Gleason, and a keynote address by FreeMarkets founder Glen Meakem.

Meakem's speech, titled "The five ways to make Pennsylvania great again," was excellent. His plan for revitalizing PA had alot to do with taking government jobs and services and transferring them over to the private sector, which is a long-held belief by economic conservatives and Libertarians. Meakem compared Pennsylvania to America in Ayn Rand's "Atlus Shrugged:" a state that is becoming so overrun with government jobs, socialist welfare, and bureaucratic red tape is forcing the "Atluses" (AKA the investors who start big businesses and keep the economy rolling) out of the state. It was a very intriguing premise that really seemed to apply to the Commonwealth.

Mr. Meakem didn't pull any political punches either. He kept reminding the audience that he could really say whatever he wanted because he wasn't a politician. His assessment of the Commonwealth's current economy was at times a little harsh, but rightfully so. Meakem called for the state government to privatize the PA Turnpike system; cut down on public transportation, especially in upper class areas; and take control of police and firemen contracts.

The other interesting argument he brought up was our state's pitiful public school's system, which has been scoring below the national average. The problem with our school system, Meakem says, is that our teacher's union is out of control. Students aren't getting the education they need because the teachers are too concerned with striking. Don't believe him? Meakem said that in the past year, Pennsylvania had 12 teachers strikes across the state; over the entire rest of the country there were only 8!

Meakem's ideas for reform in Pennsylvania were practical, if somewhat idealistic (knowing how our legislative body works, doing things like privatizing the turnpike may be impossible).

The College Republicans would like to thank PA GOP chairman Rob Gleason for purchasing our tickets for the event, and Westmoreland GOP chairman Perry Christopher for inviting us! It was, once again, great to be a part of the strong Republican community in Westmoreland County!