Inquirer Editorial: Passes for progress

During another great education debate, George W. Bush blamed the "soft bigotry of low expectations" for the underachievement of many of the nation's students. Given the low expectations with which Pennsylvanians are forced to regard their government, lawmakers' vote last week to fund Philadelphia schools with a new cigarette tax, along with a tentative move toward pension reform, qualifies as a victory.

Taking place two days into the new fiscal year with no budget in place, the breakthrough didn't come at the 11th hour so much as the 59th. The state House approved a city-only, $2-a-pack cigarette tax advocated by local officials that is expected to produce about $80 million a year for schools. Meanwhile, thanks to a compromise among Republicans, legislation to move new public employees toward 401(k)-style retirement benefits was positioned for a vote in the fall.

These measures address a pair of serious policy problems - unsustainable pensions and underfunded schools - as far as they go, which is not far enough. The tobacco tax would cover only half of the Philadelphia School District's current deficit, and the budget largely fails to deal with statewide education funding. The pension measure, meanwhile - even if it does eventually pass - wouldn't begin to address a mountain of already accumulated obligations.

With Corbett facing a deservedly difficult reelection bid as well as divisions among his fellow Republicans, the administration had signaled a willingness to consider taxes on natural-gas drilling and more in exchange for Democratic support of pension reforms and liquor privatization, both reasonable goals that were unreasonably rejected by local Democrats. Much more was possible for the city and its schoolchildren if the Philadelphia delegation had mustered a modicum of courage and compromise.