If I Ran the Zoo

July 14, 2025

By Rep. Milou Mackenzie

While enjoying a few precious hours reading to my grandchildren this summer, I recalled a beloved Dr. Seuss book that I had read to my own children many years ago. “If I Ran the Zoo” is a charming story based on the imaginary musings of a little boy who thought that, if given a chance when he grew up, he would make some changes or improvements to the zoo he was visiting.

The whole concept captured my imagination as I found myself being dragged back and forth to Harrisburg on an erratic schedule during a tumultuous budget season. As a rank-and-file member in the House of Representatives, I have little insight or information about how the negotiations are going. All I do know for sure is that the June 30 deadline for a balanced budget is well behind us and the House of Representatives is on a stop and start schedule with no end in sight. The speaker routinely calls us to Harrisburg for three (or maybe two or even one) days a week where little work pertaining to the budget is actually taking place.

Unfortunately, the taxpayers are on the hook for paying millions of dollars to keep the House open during this time.

So, it got me to thinking… if I were the governor… or whoever is running the “Zoo” that is Harrisburg, I might have an idea for a change or two!

For the first order of business, I would have taken a serious look at the money that the Commonwealth is taking in and then put forth a realistic, sensible budget proposal for the year, rather than propose a pie-in-the-sky spending spree like the one Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed back in February of this year.

Secondly, I would not even consider dipping into the Rainy Day Fund unless it was in the event of a real emergency, which is what that fund is clearly earmarked to be. As every person who has lived life for any period of time knows, emergencies do occur, and it is absolutely essential to have enough money to get through a tough time of trouble!

It is undeniable that in a Commonwealth the size of Pennsylvania, there will be some extreme emergencies that will require massive amounts of money. A bridge or road collapsing might be a real possibility! (Oh yes, that already did happen at least once.)

Or the governor’s mansion might be set on fire, and a more sophisticated and expensive security system might need to be installed. (Oh yes, that did happen one time too!)

Or the electrical grid might develop a problem and the state 911 system might shut down and need to be repaired. (Oh yes, I believe that did happen too!)

So, in my opinion, it would be foolhardy and irresponsible to dwindle the Rainy Day Fund down to nothing while spending it on day-to-day expenses! If I were the governor…that is something I would never do!

And finally on my list of things to do, I would take the time to do a deep dive and provide an exhaustive analysis about where our tax dollars are going. I would ask if our money is doing what we really want and need it to be doing. Are we doing the most good for the overall population of Pennsylvanians that we can be doing?

Are our priorities straight? Are we just throwing good money after bad year after year because that is the way it has always been done? I would be willing to ask the serious questions and try to save Pennsylvania! It is a wonderful place to live, and we need to keep it that way for future generations.

So if I ran the zoo… or “if I were the governor”… that’s what I’d do! And I hope that whoever the next governor is might do the same.

Representative Milou Mackenzie
131st Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Will Jones
717.260.6615
WJones@pahousegop.com
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