Each year, the Governor’s budget address sets the tone for the legislative battles ahead. This week, Governor Josh Shapiro delivered his proposed 2026–27 budget to a joint session of the General Assembly, outlining what he views as Pennsylvania’s priorities for the coming year.
At Pennsylvania Family Institute, we pay close attention to these moments. Not because of the pomp or the applause lines, but because buried inside long speeches and glossy talking points are real policy proposals that will directly affect families, children, and the moral direction of our Commonwealth.
This budget address makes one thing clear: the coming months will require vigilance, engagement, and courage from citizens who care about strengthening families and protecting children.
Pennsylvania’s Demographic Challenge
One of the most revealing moments in the Governor’s speech came when he acknowledged Pennsylvania’s looming demographic challenges:
“Today, our kindergarten classes are 26 percent smaller than our high school graduating classes.”
That statistic should alarm every Pennsylvanian. It signals the negative economic consequences of a shrinking workforce, a weaker tax base, and fewer young families building the future of our state. But more importantly, it reflects deeper cultural failures: declining marriage, family instability, legalization of marijuana, and decades of abortion that have robbed Pennsylvania of an entire generation.
Yet instead of addressing these root causes, the Governor’s budget proposes expanding government programs while ignoring the moral and social foundations that allow families and communities to flourish.
As Michael Geer noted in a statement to the press, “Instead of addressing the root causes—declining marriage, family instability, and a culture that devalues children—his budget doubles down on bigger government and proposes paying for it through expanded gambling and the rapid and pervasive introduction of the commercial sale of marijuana. These policies will only deepen the problems they claim to solve.”
Government cannot replace the role of marriage. It cannot substitute for stable, thriving families. And it cannot spend its way out of a cultural collapse.
Bigger Government Band-Aids Instead of Family Renewal
Throughout the speech, the Governor repeatedly returned to the same solution: more spending, more programs, more state intervention. More mental health counselors. More social services. More bureaucracy.
While there are areas where public policy has a role to play, this budget largely treats symptoms while ignoring causes. Family breakdown fuels mental health struggles. Fatherlessness increases crime and poverty. Addiction devastates households long before it overwhelms government systems.
Without policies that strengthen marriage, support parents, and affirm the value of children, these proposals amount to expensive Band-Aids applied to deep societal wounds.
Marijuana Commercialization: A Direct Threat to Families and Children
Perhaps the most concerning element of the Governor’s budget is his push to legalize and commercialize recreational marijuana as a revenue source, under the deceptive euphemism of regulation.
This is not a neutral policy choice. It is a decision that will shape communities, normalize drug use, and expose children to high-potency THC products through retail storefronts in their neighborhoods.
The Governor framed marijuana legalization as a matter of regulation and revenue. But states that have gone down this road have seen increased youth usage, worsening mental health outcomes, higher rates of addiction, and a predatory industry that prioritizes profit over public safety.
Dan Bartkowiak, Chief Strategy Officer at PA Family Council, put it plainly: “Getting stuff done shouldn’t mean getting stuff wrong. Pennsylvanians do not want to be forced into retail marijuana storefronts in their local community that sell high-potency THC products for recreational use, and such a proposal would make our communities worse; increasing youth mental health problems, normalizing addictive drug use, and expanding an industry that puts profit ahead of families and public safety.
We need to fix what’s already broken: lax medical oversight, high-potency products masquerading as medicine, and dangerous intoxicating hemp products sold in gas stations. Getting stuff right means protecting children, strengthening families, and advancing the common good. That requires rejecting Gov. Shapiro’s plan for government-incentivized marijuana commercialization.”
Legalizing marijuana will not solve Pennsylvania’s problems. It will multiply them.
Gambling Expansion and False Promises
The Governor also proposed expanding and taxing gambling to fund his agenda. Pennsylvania is already near the top nationally in legal gambling, and the social costs are well-documented: addiction, financial ruin, broken families, and increased demand for social services.
Using gambling and marijuana to bankroll government growth is not fiscal responsibility. It is moral short-sightedness that shifts costs onto families and communities least able to bear them.
School Choice Quietly Undermined
While the Governor spoke at length about education funding, his budget takes troubling steps away from real parental choice.
Tom Shaheen, Vice President for Policy at PA Family Council, explained: “The Governor talks about competitiveness and opportunity, yet this budget quietly reduces access to proven school choice tax credits by repurposing, not expanding, the Education Improvement Tax Credit. Holding the overall cap flat while reallocating credits means fewer options for families already waiting for better educational opportunities.
Additionally, he intends to cut funding for public cyber charter schools, limiting that option for parents. At a time when parents are demanding more choice, this budget moves Pennsylvania in the wrong direction.”
Parents are asking for more decision-making control over their children’s education, not fewer options. This budget signals resistance to empowering families where it matters most.
Points of Agreement, But the Bigger Picture Matters
To be clear, there were areas of limited agreement in the Governor’s address, including concerns about excessive screen time in classrooms and the need for age verification online to protect children. These are issues PA Family Institute has worked on for years, and we will carefully evaluate any legislation that moves forward.
But isolated points of agreement do not outweigh a budget that expands government while weakening the social institutions that make freedom and prosperity possible.
The Battles Ahead and Why Your Voice Matters
The Governor’s budget address is only the beginning. Over the coming months, these proposals will be debated, amended, and voted on in committee rooms and floor sessions across Harrisburg.
As our Family Minute radio spot reminds listeners each day: we are watching the Capitol. But we cannot do this work alone.
Citizen involvement is essential. Lawmakers need to hear from families who are informed, alert, that understand what is at stake and that are willing to speak up for what is right.
Now is the time to stay informed, engaged, and prepared to act. The future of Pennsylvania’s families will be shaped by what happens in the months ahead. Let’s remain watchful, speak clearly, and stand firm for policies that truly serve the common good.
We encourage you to share this article with family, friends, and fellow church members, and invite them to sign up for our email alerts at pafamily.org so they can be ready to pray, vote, and engage as these critical issues unfold.
