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Budget
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A new and likely-doomed blog series, in which I fuss about the city budget. Oh yeah.
"The Government," Mayor Nutter told me, very firmly, "is not growing."
Period. That's it. Read. My. Lips.
Well, he didn't say that, but he kind of implied it. I stammered a bit and waved a piece of paper entitled "City Manager's Quarterly Report" at him, but the mayor wouldn't budge. "The government is not growing," he said, and patted me good-naturedly on the back, as if to say, "But nice try."
It's a claim he's made several times, most notably in a recent letter to the Inquirer:
Several opinion pieces may lead readers to believe the city has relied only on revenue measures to solve the multibillion-dollar deficits it has faced since the world economic collapse. That is false. Excluding pensions and debt service, the city's costs this year will be about $160 million lower than in fiscal 2008. A big part of that reduction has been in personnel costs. Since December 2008, the city's general-fund workforce has shrunk by about 800, and when part-time and temporary positions are added, there are 1,250 fewer employees now than at the end of 2008. And for the first half of this fiscal year, overtime was down by a third from where it was last year.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the government, this man is saying, is not growing.
But this handy chart I made says differently:
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| By Isaiah Thompson, Data: City of Philadelphia |
Here's what the chart tells us:
- While it's true that Nutter cut jobs way down from December 2008, that date represented a high-water mark; in other words, Nutter, at the time, was already presiding over the highest level of staffing in four years.
- Starting this year, we can expect to see the city's staff levels go back up, eventually back to where they were in 2005 which was a full three years before the great financial collapse.
- Between 2008 and 2009, the mayor did eliminate actual positions but he also eliminated plenty of vacant positions.
- The number of actual positions, while shrinking, has stayed in more or less the same relative in proportion to the number of budgeted positions.
Look: I'm not some small-government nut. Putting on my columnist's hat for a minute, I don't really care all that much if we do or don't add 100 jobs. It's a small part of the overall budget, and a relatively small part of the overall tax burden. But in a budget proposal which makes virtually no cuts on the one hand, and raises taxes on the other, it's worth asking whether the administration is making its sacrifices this year, too.
Nutter's response, when I first tried to run these numbers by him, was "Talk to Dubow" referring to Rob Dubow, Director of Finance.
Dubow, initially, told me that the city is not adding staff. Until he admitted that, well, yes, it is adding a few positions but not that many, and, he said, the city expects some of these staff investments (e.g technologyth) to result in "efficiencies," which they have not yet budgeted for.
Which is all well and good, but not not quite what the mayor said, when he said, "The Government is not growing."
I cannot believe the mayor did not take your little chart as gospel and cancel his entire schedule to review it with you. What was he thinking?
I think I'm starting to look like the better choice in that election every day....
[...] And I'll say this: As a reporter, I've found the mayor himself and his staff, particularly the mayor's press office, with which I interact fairly often, to be remarkably accessible and down-to-earth even when my writing is, as is often the case, critical. [...]
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| Photo | Neal Santos |
At the end of last year, City Paper's Andrew Thompson did a piece on Brett Mandel, the former director of Philadelphia Forward who seemingly checked out of city politics after being disillusioned with Mayor Nutter:
"[Nutter] didn't promise that we would tread water. He promised a renaissance," Mandel says.
And when the campaign was over, he threw up his hands and walked away. "For the last two decades, I've been screaming and yelling about Philadelphia, inside city government, outside city government," he says. "That can be frustrating. Dealing with the political structure is a pain."
We thought he might be back, though. (In fact, the piece mentioned that he had become a committee person for the city's Eighth Ward but just as a hobby.) Recently, he's been circulating critiques of Nutter's budget, which you can read here. Also, he's speaking at Penn's Houston Hall (Room 281) on April 22 at 6 p.m., about such problems he has with the budget. Additionally, he's pushing for a "thorough purge" of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, and asking that reform-minded folk attend new candidates' fundraisers with him.
Can we call it a comeback?
Brett will be speaking to the members of the Loyal Opposition on April 22nd as Holly mentioned. Please join us to hear the significant and alarming insights Brett has on the Philadelphia budget crises.
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| Photo | Lara Coleman |
Coca-Cola employees, restaurant owners, and even Councilpersons Brian ONeill and Frank Rizzo Jr. gathered today at noon at City Hall to protest Mayor Nutter's proposed 2-cent-per-ounce soda tax.
Since the tax was revealed earlier this month, Mayor Nutter has been arguing that it will not only generate revenue, but also promote better health and lower obesity rates for Philadelphia residents. Protesters, however, question why the city is only targeting soda as a perpetrator of obesity.
"What about McDonalds or Tastycakes?" asks Frank Berthcsi, an employee of Coca-Cola for 35 years. (More than 50 Coca-Cola employees attended the rally.) Its unjust the way theyre singling out soda companies.
"If the Mayor taxed cheesesteaks he'd be out of office in a day," adds Ed Doile, a Coca-Cola production employee.
"I coach high school football," he continues. "The kids drink soda every day." Haasz also argues that soda drinkers are often healthy, citing his two sons as avid soda drinkers who have never been overweight.
Coca-Cola employees claim the tax will cause as many as 2,000 employees to lose their jobs, starting with those in management.
"I'd like to retire from Coca-Cola, but I won't if this goes through," says John Ilisco, a manager at Coca-Cola. "Managers are first to go."
Coca-Cola and Pepsi employees, along with the American Beverage Association, organized the event.
I woke up today unable to contain my frustration about the misleading information I am seeing in regard to the proposed soda tax and also the disproportionate focus some are trying to put on to the consumption of sugar alone.
Sugar has calories. Yes, we know that. But lets be clear: lots of healthy foods (like say, fruit) contain sugar and also, if you consumed NO calories, well, you wouldnt do very well
. Of course there is a major obesity problem in this country. There is also a general health crisis in this country. However, trying to somehow place the blame entirely on sugar or on beverages like soda that are sweetened with sugar, is myopic at best, and misleading at worst.
For instance, a lot was made recently in the press about a study released that concluded that there is a link between regular consumption of traditional soft drinks and pancreatic cancer. My dad just recovered from pancreatic cancer which nearly killed him a year ago. I am particularly sensitive to severity and risks of this illness. If you look at the anecdotal information passed around in the popular press on this study you will find that they claim that people who consumed soda regularly over prolonged periods of time were, according to that study, 87% more likely to contract pancreatic cancer. However, in that same study, they point out that people who consumed juice had no greater incidence of pancreatic cancer. Juice typically has an even higher sugar content and calorie count than even traditional soda. (Granted, the sugar is naturally occurring and was not addedbut nevertheless, it is THERE.) So, people who drank soda got pancreatic cancer, but people who drank juice (with MORE sugar and calories) did not. Conclusion (according to that study): it was the SUGAR in soda that got people sick. I have not seen anyone in the press call them on this. I still cant figure out why. In addition, did anyone ever stop to think that people who drink traditional soda everyday may also be more likely to have other unhealthy habits that are contributing factors (such as smoking or lack of exercise)?? Heres my favorite part: what about the OTHER ingredients in traditional soda?? They often contain artificial sweeteners, preservatives like potassium sorbate or sodium benzoate, and many other artificial ingredients. Is there any chance that any of those chemicals might contribute to a greater incidence in cancer? Not according to that studyits the sugar. Just the sugar, everyone. Calories kill. I guess we all need to stop eating.
At Snow Beverages we pride ourselves on making healthy products. I have been a vegetarian since 1980 (when I was 14) and I am committed to never making a product that contains any ingredient that is unhealthy. Is sugar unhealthy? No. Is TOO MUCH sugar unhealthy? Of course. However, as I stated earlier, orange juice has substantially more calories than our soda. Is orange juice unhealthy?
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Traditional soda contains unhealthy ingredients. We simply dont use them. Diet soda contains many ingredients that I would never let me family consume. I have two five year old twin sons. I have absolutely no problem with them drinking a little Snow Natural Soda + Vitamins. I would never let them drink traditional diet soda. Rather than have our children misled and pushed into drinking diet soda (with its chemical artificial sweeteners and its preservatives that some claim are low-level carcinogens) why not teach them to look at health from an overarching and global perspective? Lets be responsible and teach them to be as well. They should eat balanced and healthy diets. They should try and avoid chemical ingredients. They need to exercise regularly. If they do this, they will not become obese. Taxing soda wont save them. It will temporarily put some money in the depleted state coffers and then it may have a myriad of other negative long-term economic effects (such as layoffs at local soda manufacturers, a strain on already-strapped low income families, etc.) but this band-aid attempt to raise revenue that is posing as some sort of quick-fix for the health and obesity problems in our state and our world, is really nothing more than an ill-founded and misrepresented lie.
The Alliance for a Healthier NY has a website. According to my two-minute search for the domain name on Go Daddy it appears to have been registered as recently as February 4th of 2010. There is no way I could find to contact them. I would be interested to know who is funding them. On their site, there are a plethora of FAQs addressing many of the major questions related to this issue. I find them to be extremely biased, one-sided and in fact, in many cases, rather misleading. Below are a few examples, along with my comments below their answers:
Q. What are sugar-sweetened beverages?
AHNYN Answer: For the proposed tax, sugar-sweetened beverages are soft drinks that contain more that 10 calories per 8 ounces. They include sweetened water, soda, sports drinks, energy drinks, colas, sweetened bottled coffee or tea, and sweetened fruit or vegetable drinks containing less than 70% natural fruit or vegetable juice. Milk, milk products, milk substitutes, dietary aids, and infant formula are exempt.
Stus Comment: So, for some reason if it is juice or milk-based the amount of calories is suddenly unimportant?? This seems arbitrary and absurd, and purely politically-minded.
Q. Why tax only sugar-sweetened beverages? Other foods, like Twinkies and Ding Dongs, provide empty calories.
AHNYN Answer: There is significant evidence linking sugar-sweetened beverage consumption with obesity and other health problems. Studies that follow people for a long time show that people who consume more sugar-sweetened beverages gain more weight. One article that reviewed many studies found that drinking sugar-sweetened beverages had the strongest link with overweight and obesity, more than any other food-related behavior. When people drink a sugar-sweetened beverage, they do not compensate (i.e., reduce their concomitant or subsequent caloric intake) for the additional calories from the drink. So the calories from the drink become extra calories.
Stus Comment: Do I even need to respond? I guess they are claiming that soda is the worst and they just sort of skip over the question about Ding Dongs. If they actually care about health and/or obesity, why not tax Ding Dongs too? [By the way, out of respect for the Ding Dong people I would like to point out that I didnt reference their brandthey did
]
Q. Shouldnt all sodas be taxed, diet and non-diet? Diet sodas are not good for people, either.
AHNYN Answer: While drinking diet soda is not recommended, the evidence linking its consumption with poor health outcomes and/or obesity is weaker than the evidence for sugar-sweetened sodas. The most healthful drinks are water and low-fat or fat-free milk.
Stus Comment: What study done by independent researchers concluded that taxing soda will force people to give it up, avoid diet soda, and somehow switch to milk (waitonly low-fat milk, since regular milk isnt being taxed either) and water??? Clearly this has nothing to really do with health or diet soda, which is, in my opinion, dramatically more unhealthy than consuming some natural cane sugar, would be taxed doubly. In addition, I guess they missed the studies that claim that diet soda confuses the sweetness receptors in the brain and leads to the bodys mismanagement of sugar and insulin levels. Some claim that diet soda actually ends up backfiring and causing more obesity than it prevents. There is all sorts of data saying that people who drink diet soda are more likely to be obese. I wouldnt quote those sources because I think that is also confusing, but lets not pretend that diet soda is some kind of magic cure for obesity.
Q. Wont taxing non-diet soda just encourage people to drink diet soda, which is not really a healthier alternative?
AHNYN Answer: With increased public awareness surrounding the tax, we expect people to switch to healthier beverages like water and low-fat milk.
Stus Comment: Why? The assumptions here are unbridled
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Q. Arent people opposed to a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages?
AHNYN Answer: A majority of New York adults support a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. In a poll conducted by the Healthcare Education Project in January of 2010, 78% of the people polled supported a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages if the revenue raised was to be used to prevent healthcare cuts.
Stus Comment: So
. I guess they are certain that the people of the state of NY arent actually concerned about those health care cuts they reference in passing and completely (in my humble opinion) twist out of context.
The fact is, people should eat and drink healthy and natural products. Taxing any beverage that has sugar in it (even natural cane sugar) will not solve any widespread health problem or any obesity problem. It may cause more economic damage than it provides in tax revenues. Furthermore, it detracts from a comprehensive and responsible dialogue on these important and timely issues or their actual solutions. Dont be fooled.
Stu Strumwasser
CEO of Refreshiliciousness
Snow Beverages, Inc.[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by philly news now, Yancey @YanceyG. Yancey @YanceyG said: Anti-soda tax protesters gather outside of City Hall: Photo | Lara Coleman Coca-Cola employees, restaurant ... http://bit.ly/dCBwgG [...]
I'm glad to see this protest covered. Great job!
[...] Anti-soda tax protesters gather outside of City Hall :: The Clog … [...]
[...] Anti-soda tax protesters gather outside οf City Hall :: Tһе Clog … [...]
I know. I can't believe it either: Video? On the internet?
Oh, Brave new world!
Anyway, leave it to our brilliant friends at It's Our Money (or, as we call it around the office, "Three Men; One Blog; and a Whole Lot of Municipal Finance," to figure out how to make this "moving picture" of the mayor's budget address yesterday boiled down into four minutes.
Also, for anyone even remotely interested in what happens to this year's budget (Will Nutter succeed in implementing a really high tax on soda? Will "trash fees" make it through Council?) these guys will be covering the hell out of it, so put 'em on your reader.
In a Capitol Wire piece published earlier this week, State Rep. Dwight Evans makes a fairly scary prediction about the future lack of state funding for state-related universities, including Temple University and Lincoln University:
After Penn State President Dr. Graham Spanier, University of Pittsburgh President Mark Nordenberg, Temple President Ann Weaver Hart and Lincoln President Dr. Ivory Nelson expressed mostly gratitude for what they received from the state this fiscal year and what theyre proposed to get next year, [House Appropriations] Committee Chairman Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia, told them to prepare for a complete cut in the future. Although Evans did not indicate university funding would be affected next fiscal year, he said state funding could be eliminated entirely in subsequent years.
Im surprised youre receiving any funding at this particular point, he said. The state system has always been there. Not that I want to be gloom and doom, but I think its a matter of time. Its a matter of time that you may not be receiving any appropriation from this state.
Evans said its not anybodys particular fault, its where we are today.
(He thinks schools are safe for now because of stimulus dollars.) As it stands, Temple will get $165 million from Gov. Rendell's budget for the next fiscal year, and Lincoln will get $14 million.
(Apologies: this reporter clicked "Publish" instead of "Preview" and subjected early post readers to horrendous spelling mistakes).
(In Part One: The Great Santoni, Gaming Oversight Chairman Dante Santoni concocts a super-amendment to destroy all other amendments and rewrites the table games bill to include all sorts of earmarks and casino-friendly provisions).
By Monday night, House legislators saw that the fix was in: the dozens of amendments to the table games bill drafted by House members â each of which would, in theory, require a reading and open debate before the public on the House floor â had been obliterated by the omnibus Santoni amendment. It was to be an all or nothing vote.
Part Two: The Gag.
The debate carried on for six hours, as Rep. Santoni stood for interrogation by oppositional Republicans and a few furious Democrats, who accused him of leaving them out of the process.
Rep. Mike O'Brien (D-Philadelphia), for example,a member of the gaming Oversight Committee, who represents part of Fishtown, asked why, when he called on Friday to make inquiries on the massive bill that had suddenly appeared, Committee staff was unable to help him.
"This process reeks," O'Brien said. "Tonight, I will correct the error of my vote in Gaming Oversight, and I will vote 'no.'"
Rep. Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) spoke at length and passionately against the bill, reading from a long list of bizarre and suspicious earmarks, and criticizing the bill's failure to adopt Attorney General recommendations that law enforcement authority be taken away from the gaming Control Board.
Rep. Paul Clymer (R-Bucks) condemned the bill as a giveaway to the casinos, citing the low license fees ($16.5 million versus a $50-$60 million recommended figure Clymer had obtained from an investment specialist) and the low tax rates (14% versus the 55% tax on slot revenues).
Clymer referenced a group of consultants from the Innovation Group â a company with strong ties to the gaming industry â who had met with House leaders and recommended those very figures.
"It's exactly what they said at that meeting that we're finding in this Amendment," he cried. "You can see the voice and face of the casinos' influence in this legislation."
But Clymer's heaviest condemnation was on moral grounds, calling provision for allowing credit to gamblers "horrendous."
"What are we doing to our fellow man?" he asked. "I hope Governor Rendell, if this bill gets to him, will veto it on that issue alone."
Finally, around 8:00 P.M. the amendment was put to a vote. It passed: 97-95. Click here to see how each member voted.
The amendment had passed, but the night wasn't over â not quite.
A number of Representatives had managed to get new amendments on the agenda.
Representative Keller (D-Philadelphia), who had voted for Santoni's amendment, nonetheless offered a new amendment to remove the language in Santoni's bill allowing Foxwoods Casino to extend its license. The motion failed.
Representative Clymer, not going down without a fight, had several amendments. One would require that quarterly statements be sent to gamblers, letting them see on paper how much they had spent at a given casino. It failed.
Another amendment banned free alcohol in casinos; three more amendments tried to raise the licensing fee for table games from $16.5 million to between $25 and $75 million.
"Whether you agree or disagree with gambling, we can try to get the most out of it for the state," Clymer later told me. "If we did $50 million we'd get in approximately $600 million" - which is an increase of $400 million dollar and that would fix the governor's $200 million deficit."
Such a measure, one would think, would be amenable to everyone in the House â unless, of course, House members' loyalties were to the casinos themselves, and not the state coffers.
And, in fact, these amendments were not voted upon. Instead, any House members trying to further amend the bill were silenced â by a single old man: the 88-year-old Representative Frank Oliver (D-Philadelphia) who offered the obscure "motion to move the previous question."
I don't know what it means, but I've learned what it does: it ends debate, on the spot. The motion carried. Neither Clymer's amendments nor anyone else's would be given even the dignity of a public hearing, much less be voted upon.
The gag had worked.
Listen below to some of the testimony in Monday's debate on the House floor.
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| Rep Paul Clymer |
| [audio:http://stream.citypaper.net/music/clymer.wav.ff.mp3] |
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| Rep Mike Turzai |
[audio:http://stream.citypaper.net/music/turzai.wav.ff.mp3] |
[...] They do not say how or by whose hand the clause that would favor Wojdak's client got into the bill - but one points out that the casino is located in Berks county, just across the river from Reading â an area represented by Rep. Dante Santoni, the same Santoni who masterminded the bill and led it through the House. [...]
this is outrageous. not sure how many people are in bed with the casinos, but i hope someone is snooping under the covers.
[...] previous The Fix is In, Part Two: How the table games amendment was rammed through the House, and opponents s... [...]
[...] previous Great Holiday Gifts at Half the Price next The Fix is In, Part Two: How the table games amendment was rammed through the House, and opponents s... [...]
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Now, I'm still pretty new in town, so I might not have a perfect feel for how these things work up here. That said, I've been around enough union negotiations to begrudgingly admire the insane, ballsy, never-gonna-happen tack the Transit Workers Union Local 234 took yesterday, when it announced that maybe, just maybe, it would strike at the end of this week, which — hey wouldn't you know it? — just so happens to coincide with the World Series. Oh, the happenstance.
But to be clear, they don't WANT to strike during the World Series. No, that would be mean, and terribly impolitic during this city's moment in the national spotlight. Just, if SEPTA doesn't give them everything they possibly want, right now, they'll have no choice. And shucks, that would be so darn unfortunate.
"This is the last week we are going to work without a contract," said Willie Brown, local TWU president, whose more than 5,000 members have been working without a contract since March 15.Yet Brown's message to World Series fans was this: "We're going to do everything we can not to have a strike."
Everything, that is, except be reasonable. See, everywhere else on the planet, workers — especially government workers — have taken to the warm embrace of the words "wage freeze." Because "wage freeze" is slightly less-sucky than "massive layoffs" and "draconian pay cuts." Our friends in the TWU, however — some of whom might be considered slightly overpaid — are balking at two years of wage freeze, followed by a 2 percent raise the years after. And that's understandable, I suppose. I've spent the last few years in companies with "wage freezes" too, and it definitely is an undesirable situation. But their reasoning — that they got raises a few years back, when SEPTA was in even deeper in the hole — strikes me as a bit flawed. As in: If you rolled your car down a mountain and flipped it a bunch of times and totaled it a few years back, what's the harm in driving it into the ditch now?
Predictably, the union is refusing to up workers' healthcare contributions, and wants the city to increase its allocation to the union's pension plan. In a normal universe, where the city is cratering in fiscal crisis, these are the kinds of demands that get laughed out of the negotiating table. But this universe is not normal. This is the week of the Series, where thousands of crazy, drunk, poll-climbing, car-flipping freaks will crowd into South Philly to watch the Phils try to repeat. And then they'll want a ride home.
To the TWU, this is, of course, leverage, which is a polite word for extortion. The city hardly wants its moment in the sun sullied by having its major transit system effectively shut down. So the union figures this is their week to make a move. Can't argue with the strategy.
Of course, if the trains stop running this weekend — which is also Halloween, wouldn't you know — people are gonna be pissed. At SEPTA workers, not the city. And rightly so; I doubt SEPTA workers will find much sympathy in an era of 10 percent unemployment and budgets that already ooze red ink. So when the TWU says it doesn't want to strike, it doesn't. It just wants Nutter SEPTA to blink first. It's a schoolyard dare. The TWU wants to see how much backbone City Hall SEPTA officials have.
I'm curious to see what happens if the tables turn: If Nutter SEPTA turns them away, does TWU have the gumption to follow through, to strike during the Series?
EDIT & CORRECTION: As Gary from the comments pointed out, SEPTA is not a city agency and therefore TWU does not negotiate with Nutter and co. You learn something every day.
If the workers want more money to deal with 8+ hours a day of ungrateful jerks, exhaust fumes, stress, and traffic, they should get it. I have a feeling that most people against this strike have cushy office jobs (like myself) and never have to experience 40+ hours a week of actual labor. Anti-union sentiment is anti-worker. If the company had their way they'd pay drivers minimum wage and give no benefits. I can understand the difficulty for someone who relies on transit to get to work, but we're all workers and we should all stick together against the REAL enemy, the CEOs who make millions then point fingers and blue collar workers and call them "greedy" for wanting a salary that can support a family.
Septa bus drivers already make more money than the average airline pilot. Think about that next time you board a plane.
I'm pro-labor, much like Stan Shapiro above - but only pro-labor in the name of responsible organizing. This is not responsible. While there are transgressions on both sides of the debate - ultimately, a strike of these proportions is crippling and selfish. Philadelphians young and old, rich and poor depend on public transportation. Many, including myself, use it because we cannot afford a car, or simply don't need it. Parents will struggle to get their children to school, and for many Philadelphians, getting their children to school is a difficult task with or without SEPTA. We don't need to add to the laundry list of social and economic barriers that already work against city youth. Employees will have to miss work or face stern warnings for showing up late because they had to walk or loiter for two hours in traffic. I have no sympathy for the lot of TWU. And we wonder why Philly is so mercilessly ripped apart by New Yorkers as "second rate". The behavior of this union certainly is.
Septa workers are insane! Hpw many people dont even have a job! average septa worker makes btw14-25/ hrs if u dont know, they pay only 1% of their salary for health benifits. They strke because they know they can and nothing will happen to em. Many of us ar loosing jobs. They wanan get more money but where does the money come from? from our pocket yup its clear that septa will say yes to their demands then increse the fare. tired of these people. Gotta kno this is not the best time to strike.
"I meant amazingly narrow analysis on the part of the City Paper. What do you drive to work, a BMW?â Actually, last year, we all chipped in and bought a '78 dodge dart, which we take turns driving. I'm the publisher, so I get to take it home on weekends.
[...] Extortion: n., (1) obtaining by force, intimidation, or undue power; (2) SEPTA workers saying they might, just might, strike before the end of the week, when the World Series come to Philly, the city celebrates Halloween, and the Giants take on the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. (Philadelphia CityPaper) [...]
Missing something at the end?
This is disgusting anti-worker propaganda. Most of us are working people. If some of us are getting screwed due to layoffs or wage freezes or pension cuts, the people to get angry at are not other workers who are fighting to preserve those benefits. Fighting each other is a sure way to continue to drive wages and benefits down and driving the gap between rich and poor up. As to TWU's alleged extortion, that's just Billman's synonym for the right to strike. Without the right to strike there would be no union movement in this country, which evidently would be alright with Billman. Strikes do cause inconvenience. The disappearance of unions, however, would be disastrous for everyone, whether a member of a union or not, who earns a wage and hopes one day to have a real pension. Of course, Billmon may think real pensions are just an imposition on those of us who don't have them. Great, Billmon. I hope your 401(k) Wall Street ripoff plan crashes and burns the next time the stock market tanks, just like you would like everyone else's to do. And be sure to be happy about it, because everyone else should be, too, right?
This was right on. It's nothing less than extortion for TWU-234 to strike right now. They think the World Series is leverage for them and it's disgraceful. However, to correct a not-so-minor point... Nutter and the City administration are not the ones involved in transit negotiations. SEPTA is an independent *state*-chartered entity and its management will conduct the negotiations with union leadership.
Thank you, Stan Shapiro. Amazingly narrow analysis.
Oh yeah, this is why I don't like unions. You want the right to strike, perfectly fine. You want a right to wage increases? Don't let the door hit you on the way out. And by the way, you don't need to be in a union to leave your crappy job whenever you want.
I meant amazingly narrow analysis on the part of the City Paper. What do you drive to work, a BMW?
Well, I drive a 96 civic to work, and I hope this is the year where the SEPTA board gets backbone and holds the line in negotiations. The same thing Nutter needs to do when negotiating with city workers. If there's strikes, protests, and transit problems for a few weeks, so be it. The city will be better for it in the long run; the money saved can be put towards fare card system, technology improvements on vehicles, etc.
Worst. Public relations move. Ever. TWU just spent a fortune on television ads to try to get the city on their side of this dispute. If they strike during the World Series, they can kiss any good will goodbye. Last year, revelers trashed city property. This year, they may decide to trash SEPTA workers. Whether you are for the union or against the union, you have to admit, this is about the stupidest thing they could possibly do.
"I meant amazingly narrow analysis on the part of the City Paper. What do you drive to work, a BMW?" Nice try on the oppressive-elitist accusation, buddy. I'm sure the whole office will get a kick out of the idea.
It's time for Pennsylvania to enact a law that would outlaw strikes by transit workers, as is the case in 39 other states and the District of Columbia.
Billman only drove his BMWer to work while replacing the G4s wood grain trim with the graphite. And Andrew Thompson drives a solid platinum Schwinn. Stop in and take a peek sometime- these people eat bologna sandwiches for launch not lobster hoagies.
I was crushed by septa bus doors on march 13 2007 i had a crappy lawyer stating i was on new bus with no steps going down I was on an old bus/ driver left 69 st in afternoon 215pm left doors open when i got to stop shouted next stop she pulled bus three blocks away from my stop was traveling a fast speed / when i walked down the steps she shut doors on me crushing my arms so tight i asked her to open doors she refused I had to pry doors open I have nerve damage from this I hope someone who reads this could compensate me for my injuries etc Elaine t Mcvey p.o. box 86 narberth pa 19072 610 741 5692
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Friday morning, signs went up on every entrance to every library in the city's system, from Central on down, reading thusly: All Free Library of Philadelphia Branch, Regional and Central Libraries will be Closed Effective Close of Business October 2, 2009.
Upon seeing such, I rang Andy Kahan, the Director of Author Events at Vine St.'s Free Library of Philadelphia and asked what this meant at first glance.
First is that all libraries are now in a diminishing borrowing period and that all materials will be due on October 1. As for events and readings, Kahan says, though signals are mixed, he and his staff are preparing for the worst.
"Author events would be the only program that continues and I'm in the process of negotiating with other nearby venues — just in case," says Kahan. "Parkway institutions such as Friends Select School and Moore College of Art have stepped forward and offered their auditoria to meet our need. I'm trying to figure out which authors to place where based on the size of the audience and the institutions interest and projection capacity. I'm looking to nearby institutions because, in the event we can't reach all attendees with news of the venue changes, people who just show up will know from our illuminated signs which parkway venue is hosting our event — and they won't be late to the party."
One Book, One Philadelphia programming doesn't begin until January 2010 so it's still a bit early for the Free Library's event heads to look elsewhere — but they are prepared to take events elsewhere if necessary. Kahan is, like a lot of us, hopeful that Pennsylvania representatives will heed Mayor Nutter's warnings. "On one hand the House seems willing to pass the 1% tax and pension deferments, which would allow the city to continue functioning; the Senate is not," claims Kahan. "We're optimistic they'll work through their differences before the October 1 deadline."
Kiss a librarian today. It may be one of your last chances for a while.
[...] Citypaper has more. Maybe they’re meant as warnings of what’s to come if Mayor Nutter’s taxes [...]
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| badluckcity.files.wordpress.com |
In November, Mayor Michael Nutter said that he'd shut down 68 out of the city's 81 swimming pools. But then the people spoke, and Nutter listened (whether that's for the best or not, we have yet to see). Last Thursday, he said that he'd be keeping 46 pools open a big difference from the original 13. This obviously means all sorts of great things: recreational departments like Mander Playground (33rd and Susquehanna) will be able to keep their summer camps robust, community members without AC will have access to a cooling alternative, and crime will likely be reduced because of the 'ol routine activities theory keep people busy, and they won't get into trouble as often.
Or will they?
Caterina Roman, a criminal justice professor at Temple University, has an interesting theory about what may happen as a result of closing some pools and keeping others open. In 2003, she published a study on the effects of shutting down schools and displacing students to education centers in other neighborhoods. "We found that there was an increase in assaults, as a result of placing rival gangs together or just plain rival communities together." While she hasn't completed a study on displacing students or adults as a result of pools, she predicts that it may have the same effect. She emphasized that this was merely conjecture, but still thinks police should take it into consideration once pools open.
She also thinks officials should have thought about this while deciding which pools to close. When I spoke with Alan Joinville, public affairs coordinator for the rec department, a few days ago, he gave me a list of criteria that they used to determine which pools would stay and which would go the pool's attendance, size, age, condition, access and location. He didn't say anything about gangs.
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