We must be in a budget crisis.
Why else would Gov. Tom Wolf be calling?
The governor has been reaching out to the media to offer his version of the now three-month state budget impasse.
Thursday it was my turn.
I got about 10 minutes with the governor, who reinforced that he is no longer waiting on House Republicans to craft some kind of funding mechanism to finish the $32 billion budget that was passed just before the deadline back on June 30.
The governor intends to patch the immediate spending gap by "tapping" into profits from the Liquor Control Board.
I could not resist the opportunity to once again remind the governor that he was talking to the state's foremost proponent of scrapping the LCB and turning the sale of alcohol in the state over to private enterprise.
"Who knew all that revenue from the LCB was going to be so handy," I told the governor.
I think he got the joke.
Actually, he quickly reminded me that raiding the piggy bank of the LCB was far better than the move preferred by House Republican leadership - borrowing from the state's tobacco lawsuit settlement.
Wolf says he's done his part, streamlining government and slashing the number of state employees. Now it's time for House Republicans to get their act together.
In the meantime, Wolf is not going to hold his breath. He is going to govern.
Wolf supported the funding plan passed by the state Senate, which included a slew of new taxes as well as the state's first severance tax on natural gas drillers. It wasn't as big a tax as he once sought, but it had the key item he's been pushing, recurring revenue that will address the state's consistent budget woes. He also added that he already had abandoned something he pusheed in his first two budgets, big hikes in the state's major tax vehicles - the sales and personal income tax.
But House leaders dug in their heels against the new shale levy.
They instead this week have come up with an odd variety of measures, first looking at a levy on storage and maintenance facilities, then considering nearly doubling the hotel tax.
Neither one seems to be going anywhere.
One frustrated member of the Delco Republican House legislation told me, "It’s a level of disarray that no one can remember. I feel like the quarterback is saying “go long” every time we get in the huddle."
For his part, Wolf is done waiting.
What happens now?
"The door is always open," Wolf said. "It's time for the House to live up to their commitments."
Don't look for this to end anytime soon.
Click here for a look at what happened when Republicans from southeastern Pa. tried to get a severance tax measure out onto the House floor for a vote by the full chamber.
Click here for our editorial on the latest edition of the Pa. Budget follies.
It's enough to drive a governor to drink. Or at least skim off some of the profits.
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