Gov. Tom Wolf and Democrats are hoping to help low- to middle-income Pennsylvanians as inflation has still led to increased costs of gas, groceries, and other goods over the last two years.

Wolf visited Sharpsburg on Monday to campaign for his program to provide Pennsylvanians who make $80,000 or less a year with one-time $2,000 direct payments, which he said would provide inflationary relief.

“Times are really tough for Pennsylvanians,” said Wolf at an event at Roots of Faith, a religious organization that provides services to community members. “We really need to come up with solutions to how we are going to help families make it through.”

The proposal, called the PA Opportunity Program, would allow qualified state residents to apply for a $2,000 direct payment. If the program is passed by the state legislature, Wolf said he expects up to 250,000 applicants, which would cost the state about $500 million.

The PA Opportunity Program was first introduced as part of Wolf’s budget proposal in February. It was removed during budget negotiations, but Wolf backed the idea again as a bill in the state legislature.

Republicans have rejected the idea and many believe it will worsen inflation, saying that high levels of government spending by federal Democrats already worsened inflation over the last two years.

Senate Republican spokesperson Erica Clayton Wright said the program will only lead to false hope for Pennsylvanians, instead of providing clarity about higher costs of living.

“This illogical idea by Gov. Wolf not only leads to higher costs on Pennsylvanians but also drives inflation,” said Wright in a statement.

Wolf rejected the notion that direct payments would be inflationary because the payments would be a minuscule portion of the state’s economy. He said Pennsylvania has an $800 billion economy, and the payments would account for less than 1/10th of one percent of the state’s Gross Domestic Product.

However, with Republicans controlling both chambers of the state legislature, Wolf and fellow Democrats need GOP support to pass a bill to provide direct payments to Pennsylvanians. When asked about how he will help sway Republicans, Wolf said that he is “not sure this deserved negotiating,” and that the state has a large enough surplus to afford the program. He said sometimes in politics, “persistence makes a difference.”

“We have [the money], it is there,” said Wolf, adding the state budget has $15 billion in funds available. “What better way to use this than to put it into the pockets of people who can make their own decisions on how to spend it.”

Roots of Faith director of outreach Kathleen Stanley said the religious organization has many members who have struggled with increased costs of goods and necessities caused by inflation. She said evictions are up in the borough, and that any direct payment would provide Sharpsburg residents “a little bit of breathing room.”

Wolf indicated that payments are just as necessary now as when he first proposed the program in February. He said Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell recently announced the Federal Reserve will likely be increasing interest rates again to further combat inflation, which will likely cause Americans more economic pain.

State Rep. Sara Innamorato, D-Lawrenceville, represents Sharpsburg. She said that nearly 40% of employed households in Pennsylvania are having trouble making ends meet. She supports the PA Opportunity Fund as a means to help those families.

Innamorato said in the past when the state had a budget surplus, it too often provided subsidies and tax breaks to large corporations in hopes the savings would trickle down to residents.

She rejected this theory of governing and said direct payments would represent a shift in the state’s political mindset.

“This will not help our neighbors just here in Sharpsburg, but communities across our great commonwealth,” said Innamorato.

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