Part of my work with the Committee of Seventy this week included inspecting just a handful of Philadelphia’s thousands of voting machines to ensure they’re ready for Election Day. One of the photos taken by the Associated Press made The Washington Posts Photos of the Day section on Friday, Oct. 22.

TESTING, TESTING: Frankie Lancos and technician Jim McLaughlin tested a voting machine in Philadelphia Friday. Officials from Philadelphia’s Committee of Seventy, volunteers and technicians tested thousands of machines to ensure midterm voting will go smoothly (Matt Rourke/Associated Press).

Midterm elections usually do not have the glory of a presidential election. The idea of change is more appealing on a national level than the local level.

Unless there is a contentious election, interest in this election just isn’t there. We’re more content to point out everything wrong with the system instead of working to change it. At a time when states are facing recording budget gaps and socio-economic issues on multiple levels, this mindset is frightening.

The 2011-2012 Pennsylvania budget will face a $5 billion budget gap. Over the past three years, funds have already been drastically cut to essential services affecting our most vulnerable citizens. Basic and special education, community colleges, medical assistance and county child welfare have been slashed in the millions as shown in a Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center analysis.

Pennsylvania can’t afford this. At a time when average Americans are still struggling to make ends meet, the last thing our legislators should be doing is cutting services allowing them to stay on their feet.

These cuts do not just affect those who are relying on essential services. 6,000 out of the 25,000 bridges we all use everyday in our state are considered structurally deficient. That’s nearly one fourth of all the bridges in the Pennsylvania. As Minneapolis, Minn. showed us in 2007, our nation can’t afford to keep up the cuts.

We need legislators who will work to make sure that corporations are going to pay their fair share by enacting combined reporting which would eliminate the lucrative Delaware loophole. Tax breaks for big corporations in the face of budget cuts simply doesn’t make sense.

This Tuesday, Nov. 2 make sure the voice of working families is heard. Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Joe Sestak said it perfectly at the “Moving America Forward” rally in Philadelphia on Sunday, Oct. 12: “You don’t vote once for change, you keep fighting for it.”

Lebanon, Pa. has seen its better days. Nearly 20 percent of the 48,206 residents live below the poverty line. Still, there’s nearly everything needed for its resident to get by including a Sonic, a Sheetz gas station, a diner, and of course, a Wal-Mart super-center.

But there isn’t just one. Less than 10 miles away on the other side of town there’s another. They even proposed to build a third super-center less than five miles away from that one. However the proposal was shot-down after fierce public opposition.

Wal-Marts plague across America is coming from taxpayers wallets. According to Wal-Mart Subsidy Watch, eight cities gave multi-million dollar taxpayer bailouts to Wal-Mart:

Bedford, Pa. – Nearly $6 million.
Huntingdon, Pa. – Nearly $4.75 million
Indiana, Pa. – $1.1 million
Mt. Pocono, Pa. – $2.25 million
New Castle, Pa. – $1.3 millionP
Pottsville, Pa. – More than $2.25 million
Woodland, Pa. – $8 million

In Franklin, Pa. Wal-Mart received a $14.25 million bailout.  That equals $40.1 million in bailouts for Wal-Mart. These subsidies could have prevented the $33.9 million cut from Mental Health Services and the $6.3 million cut the Autism Intervention Services.

Because there isn’t a centralized database for subsidies received by corporations county-to-county, it’s nearly impossible to uncover whether or not other Wal-Mart stores received additional subsidies.

This data is also only from only eight of Pennsylvania’s 56 cities. How much more have they taken away from taxpayers?

Next years budget crisis is looming over Pennsylvania. With a potential $5 billion deficit, 20,000 public sector jobs are at risk and essential services are in danger of being slashed dramatically once again. Is it fair to continue to give Wal-Mart special tax breaks while or most vulnerable citizens suffer?

It’s not just through subsidiaries where Wal-Mart skirts paying their fair share. Wal-Mart is one of two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies that abuse the Delaware loophole. By setting up a subsidy in Delaware and diverting their assets to that location they are then able to claim zero profit in Pennsylvania.

That means they don’t pay the corporate income tax. Pennsylvania loses between $400 million and $5 billion because of this loophole.

It’s time to enact combined reporting to ensure that big corporations are paying their fair share. They use the infrastructure of our state which are paid for by our tax dollars. Legislators must hold big corporations accountable.

After all, who knows what company we’ll have to bail out next.

In the past, Facebook may have simply been used to share your photographs or update your status with insight into your personal life that no one actually cared about. However, those days are over. Social media is providing a unique opportunity not only for businesses but also in politics

The Greek philosopher Epictetus once said “only the educated are free.” What distinguishes social media is its ability to convey a message to constituents directly. The latest information does not have to be obtained through your local or national news station – it’s brought to you. A politician is, in essence, their own media outlet.

Multimedia platforms such as video and audio have been utilized like never before. With TwitVid, videos can be provided in real-time as they happen. Social media allows non-profit groups to fire up support from constituents by sharing the latest news articles on the topic they want to engage their audience in.

During the 2008 Presidential campaign, John McCain’s lack of support from conservatives could be attributed due to his inability to rally young voters through social media. Barack Obama, the most tech-savvy president to enter the White House, overwhelming secured the younger generations votes. His tweets became all the rage and communicated his position on the issues. With 44 percent of America actively using Facebook and seven percent actively using Twitter (the latter rapidly growing), social media is an essential media outlet to rally support.

While the evening news may not showcase the specific points a politician wants to make, the Twitter revolution has now enabled them to craft their message and image they want to convey on their terms.