In Pennsylvania, the first week of February brings two rituals: Punxsutawney Phil “tells” us if spring or winter lies ahead, and the Governor presents his state budget plan. 

Both “characters” told us to prepare for a long, cold winter. Worse, Governor Josh Shapiro’s proclamation isn’t just a fun custom — it’s a sad reality.

When Shapiro presented his state budget, we knew he also had two choices: either an “early spring” — focusing on commonsense, bipartisan policies to get meaningful “stuff” done — or a long, cold “winter” — another year of progressive bluster, a budget based on expensive, left-wing ideology, appeasing the loudest fringes, and partisan fighting with Republicans.

Well, Pennsylvania, prepare for a long, cold winter.

Shapiro chose to see his shadow — another year, another missed opportunity. Like the fictional movie “Groundhog Day,” we will be forced to re-live 2023 and 2024: cold, bleak and far more painful than necessary. Unlike Phil, Shapiro actually does have power over his own words, the power to choose “spring” or “winter.” He let us down again.

It will be especially “cold” if your child is stuck in a failing public school, you need your energy bill to come down, or you work at a small business. And you’re out of luck if you had hoped that Pennsylvania could become a state where our children wanted to stay, where college graduates wanted to work, and where other Americans would travel to in order to start a business or raise a family.

Shapiro, who as a candidate and as our newly elected governor, told us that “every child of God deserved a shot” and that parents should be able to choose a school that works for their children, said nothing about that subject again. No flowery rhetoric, no pledged funding, no proposed legislation. Worse, he wants to cut funding for cyber charter schools — schools that are actually growing in enrollment. (Maybe, that’s why his teachers union buddies lobbied him to cut those students’ funds.)

Promises made, promises broken. 

Students from poor and working class families are forced to attend demonstrably failing or unsafe public schools — measured by his own Department of Education. No “lifeline” scholarships for them. These students fall further behind. Parents lose control. Employers lose employees. Everyone loses hope.

Shapiro, who as a candidate and governor-elect told us he opposed government mandated “green energy” regulations like RGGI, has now re-re-labeled his own plan to impose “green energy” — punishing taxes, subsidies for his pet projects, and regulations that strangle Pennsylvania’s natural gas.

He talks about wanting to help Pennsylvania families and businesses by lowering energy costs, creating jobs and cleaning the air, yet he stifles and punishes the very energy source sitting under our feet that could do everything he allegedly wants to do — Pennsylvania natural gas. Instead, he wants to use taxpayer dollars to study other ways to create energy and subsidize expensive and unreliable energy sources that will likely make our air and land dirtier. Worse, he would tax consumers of natural gas to make them pay for all of this — and then use the tax dollars on their energy bills to artificially reduce the cost of expensive “green energy.”

Shapiro rejected the obvious, plentiful energy under our feet — and the lower costs and jobs to be created — all to appease the extremists of his party. He compounds that decision by forcing energy costs higher and lining the pockets of political allies and creating more government agencies.

Maybe I missed something, but I don’t believe the majority of Pennsylvania voters cast their ballots for politicians to ignore Pennsylvania natural gas, raise energy costs, make insider deals, and create bigger government. We voted for the total opposite.

Shapiro, who as a candidate and newly elected governor told us he wanted to bring down taxes to create jobs and help small business, has unfortunately dropped that rhetoric and abandoned most plans to do what he promised.

His budget spends more money than ever, grows government bigger, picks winners and losers — transferring money from one group of taxpayers to another — and will use up all of our savings and have our state in debt before his term ends. He’s partying and we’re paying the bill. And so will our children.

If on budget day 2025, Governor Shapiro proposed a budget based on what Candidate Shapiro promised, we would have had an early spring. Shapiro the candidate spoke about common sense, moderation, and getting “stuff” done.

Shapiro 2025 sounds almost nothing like the candidate — focusing instead on ideology and political allies, and sounding more like Minnesota’s Tim Walz than fellow Democrat and former Pennsylvania Governor, Ed Rendell.

Governor Shapiro has been in government — on the taxpayer payroll — since 2005. He’s been campaigning to be governor — well, actually President — since before that. He’s had years to decide the kind of governor he wanted to be.

After two years of photo-ops and fighting with Republicans (who control the State Senate and 49 percent of the State House), Shapiro knows that he had freedom to choose: build bridges or fight partisan battles. After the results of the 2024 election — when a new broad-based, majority coalition demanded change, results, and common sense — the experienced Shapiro unfortunately decided to double down on the very type of policies that the voters rejected. 

Punxsutawney Phil doesn’t actually get to decide if he sees his shadow or not. The guys in the top hats do. They said that Phil predicted a long, cold winter for Pennsylvanians. Sadly, the guys in the top hats were actually right this year. 

Shapiro had the freedom to choose: he rejected spring and he chose winter — for all of us.

Guy Ciarrocchi is Senior Fellow with the Commonwealth Foundation. He was the former Chief of Staff to Lt. Governor Jim Cawley. He writes for Broad + Liberty and RealClear Pennsylvania. Follow Guy @PaSuburbsGuy.