Road rage: Are the Corbett administration SUVs necessary?

When it comes to the perks of office, being governor and lieutenant governor is a lot like sitting in Oprah Winfrey's studio audience the day she's handing out cars.

For the last three months, Gov. Tom Corbett and Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley have been pushing austerity plans for the state. But a funny thing happened while the rest of us were tightening our belts. They were given the keys to two new Chevy Suburbans at a public cost of $53,000 each. Spouses Susan Corbett and Suzanne Cawley will get to use two 2011 Chevy Traverses that cost the state $40,000 each.

A spokesman for Mr. Corbett insisted that the lucky quartet didn't know that the state police, citing safety issues, would be issuing the new vehicles. The governor said Monday that he did not ask for them.

In contrast to the happy pandemonium that followed Oprah's car giveaways, Pennsylvania taxpayers will be hopping mad to know they're footing the $186,000 tab for the four SUVs.

No one questions the need of the governor to have a safe and accommodating vehicle at his disposal for official business, and the high-mileage cars left by the Rendell administration were due for replacement. But was the answer a $53,000 SUV?

Beyond that, were the other three vehicles necessary when educational spending is being slashed by $1 billion? Couldn't a more sensible purchase have been made to prove that the governor's call for "shared sacrifice" is not a one-way street?

If Pennsylvanians are in these cuts together, everyone must bear their share -- from Mr. Corbett on down.

First published on June 9, 2011 at 12:00 am