Today, hundreds of thousands of Philadelphia’s children will return to school and others, like everyone's favorite slightly overgrown child, Dan U-A, have already been back for a week. And for many there’s been no break from work all summer, though for those of us who work full time in politics, Labor Day marks the shift from full-time worker status to "all I do is work" craziness.

But for some, notably the state representatives and state senators who represent us in Harrisburg, summer break continues until September 15th.

Hey, they deserve it. Being a state rep or state senator is a tough job. With the annual salary, car and rent allowances, and the per diems—not to mention breakfast and lunch with lobbyists—it’s practically a full-time job just balancing your checkbook. But crazy Russ-Diamond-speak aside, what exactly can we expect of our leaders in Harrisburg when they get back to work?

Well if I was them, I’d be thinking a lot about revenue. The state Department of Revenue reported a pretty big decline in anticipated revenue last month, and you know what that means: budget cuts.

In a bad economy, budget cuts aren’t really good for any of us, and certainly not for those who rely on state-funded or assisted education, welfare or healthcare programs, not to mention any unemployed folks in need of job training or unemployment benefits. And businesses with state contracts, not to mention public employees, are screwed when the Legislature has to make budget cuts.

The best solution to this looming problem is to increase revenue into state coffers by the budget deadline next June. What can we reasonably expect our state senators and representatives in Harrisburg to do to increase revenue?

1. Help elect Barack Obama
2. Cut corporate tax loopholes
3. Get creative with tax annexation
4. Raise wages for workers; raise tax revenues for the state
5. Create high-quality, sustainable jobs that can replace those lost to continuing declines among Pennsylvania’s manufacturers

That’s a list filled with tall-orders, but why beat around the bush and pretend that anything else will do the trick?

For our Democratic state legislators, the only one we can be sure they’ll focus attention on is the first, and of course it is the most ethically perilous. It’s not really right for state legislators to slip away from their offices in Harrisburg as often as possible to stump for Obama, but rest assured that is exactly what they will do in the next 60 days. And frankly, it’s hard to blame them. Putting a Democrat in the White House will likely mean an increase in aid to states for Medicaid and education and transportation funding and hopefully more money for green jobs (all that while achieving a simultaneous reduction in overall federal spending what with the end of the Iraq war to boot).

Less tricky (and possibly more effective considering how badly some of these electeds are at achieving quality voter contact) is the idea that Democrats in Harrisburg get really aggressive and serious about pushing through a progressive agenda this fall (see items 2-5 above).

Most things that really need to happen for progressives costs money and therefore will only gain traction in budget season. However, there are some key bills that could be passed this fall that would have a concrete impact on the lives of every day Pennsylvanians AND that would woo more voters to the Democratic Presidential ticket. PA House Dems have already done a pretty good job putting together a package of progressive legislation including:

• Better healthcare funding and expanded access, S.B. 1137
• Implement a green energy plan ASAP. A bill was passed in July, but the legislature should work hard to implement it a soon as possible (which is faster than usual in Harrisburg)
• Improve highways, railroads, create jobs, provide capital to small businesses and more. Here’s a good plan from PA House Dems: http://www.pahouse.com/rebuild_pa.asp
• Expand access to public transportation and alternative-to-car transportation
• Pass paid sick leave and other worker’s rights bills, H.B. 834, HB 1155, HB 1386, 1756 and 1757
• Provide relief from rising utility bills: pass House Bill 2200 and get even more money into LIHEAP

Good stuff eh? Now, they just have to figure out how to get the Senate to pass it.

It’s certainly true that the Republican rulers of the Senate hold a lot of power. But there are fractions in the state Republican party to be exploited and then there’s Ed. Governor Rendell---also likely to be busy stumping for Obama/Biden all over the country—does still have quite a few tricks up his sleeve that could be used to leverage some Senate Republicans.

While by no means a guarantee, enacting a progressive agenda this fall that has an impact on wage growth, creates new jobs, and holds PA companies accountable to pay their fair share, is possible. The question is whether our Democratic state legislators have been using their time off effectively to build alliances and lay the groundwork to actually make it happen. After all, the biggest gift they could give the Obama campaign are real and concrete progressive results that convince voters in this state that Democrats can deliver change for real.