My name is Renata Neal. I was born second in a family of four children. We grew up in the Germantown section of Philadelphia and I attended the neighborhood public school system. While in school, I’d always maintained an “A” average, basically since kindergarten.
In middle school, (eighth grade particularly) I was nominated number one in my entire eight grade graduating class, with the highest honors of valedictorian. Within the eight years before high school, I’d received numerous awards, including the President’s award for maintaining academic achievement.
I entered in many national contests and would always obtain the top prizes. I had traveled across states because of my academic ability and honor roll status. I was nominated student ambassador of the Unites States because of my high honors and academic achievements. My profile is featured in the “Who’s Who Among High School Students,” and I graduated in the top five percent of my high school class.
And then there were sports.
First, I was a gymnast and excelled in that area. Then I ran track for my school, as well as for the city of Philadelphia, where I earned the highest trophies and awards. When I entered high school, the basketball coach noticed my height and asked me to join the team. I played basketball throughout high school, and became the captain of my basketball team, as well as the volleyball and track teams. Throughout high school, I had many newspaper clippings of my achievements in sports.
However, with all my achievements throughout high school, I soon realized that I would not receive all the funds I would need to continue my education at the university level.
I remembered when I started to receive pamphlets in the mail from universities all over the world, some I visited and others I did not. I was very fortunate to receive five scholarships, two were sports related and the other three were academic.
However, I chose to attend West Chester University, who had not offered me anything. The reason being is that West Chester had many programs that I was interested in, and upholds the top academic standards I was looking for.
Problematic, was the first thing that entered my mother’s mind. She did not understand my decision, and being a single parent, she realized that she would not be able to afford my school fees. So, I began an extensive search for grants and scholarship programs.
Presently, I am a freshman at West Chester University. I have always wanted to become a doctor. But, my grants and scholarships were not enough to pay for college. Thanks to Chaka Fattah and the Core Philly Scholarship program, I obtained all the money I needed to attend West Chester University. Mr. Fattah has opened doors to endless opportunities for students in the city of Philadelphia to achieve an education. Chaka Fattah has developed educational funding programs to support families who otherwise would not be able to afford college fees.
There are no words that could express my gratitude. I will continue to work hard to show Mr. Fattah that I appreciate his kind efforts. In my future, I plan to give back to the city of Philadelphia. I am interested in helping to fund educational programs that will continue to assist and support other underprivileged families in the same way Mr. Fattah has supported my family, along with many others.
I admire the city of Philadelphia, because of its historic sites, educational museums, entertainment and most importantly, how its history has been reserved.
Today, this city is in criminal and corruptive turmoil, but with Chaka Fattah as mayor, his honesty, integrity, positive efforts and strength, will eliminate the obstacles needed to resolve the problems and restore this city’s image and reputation.
I hope everyone who acknowledges his past accomplishments and future plans will pass his goodness onto others and go out and vote this May 15th for Chaka Fattah. He is definitely what this city needs.
Thanks, Renata
for speaking from your heart about what Fattah's work has meant to you personally and directly. So many of the posts on this "progressive" blog have demeaned and trivialized that work in favor of a candidate whose work over the same period of time has been so centered on tax cuts for rich shareholders. Your post really brings that incongruity to the fore.
When I jumped onto this
When I jumped onto this web-site and said similar things about Vince Fumo, the reaction was not so warm.
I applaud Fattah for his work in this field. But, as a mayor, his capabilities in this regard will be severly diminished. Fattah needs to stay in Congress. Urban America needs him there--on the appropriations committee.
Sounds like an excellent
Sounds like an excellent expllanation of why its important to keep Fattah on the job - in Washington on the House Appropriations Committe -where he can continue to make sure there is adequate and hopefully exapnding funding for college education - at the Federal level where the bulk of higher education funding does and can conceivably under any realistic scenario come from. CORE is an absolutely brilliant program, one that the City of Philadlephia with its steadily diminshing tax base can never possibly hope to support on a local level. As a mayor Fattah would have almost no ability to help people like Renata go to college, particularly at instiutitons outside of city limits like West Chester.
Look I am not trying to be snide, but this story has everything to do with why I have repeatedly voted for Fattah to be my congressman and why I also won't be voting for him to be my mayor.
I sincerely wish Renata the best of luck in pursuing her educational pursuits, however, and despite my own skepticism applaud her engagement in the politicla process.
Poverty should be fought from City Hall
I don't think it's valid to suggest that a mayor has little or no role in fighting poverty, and that federal or state office is the only place from which to do so. Mayors make a huge array of choices which can raise people's status. Indeed, one of the chief functions that most people see as the job of a mayor is to create economic growth. Producing such growth by providing benefits to business is often justified as a method of providing jobs for the poor. But growth can also be produced in other ways, perhaps shaped better to benefit those who need its benefits most. How growth is produced and directed involves discretion, discretion which will be applied differently by different mayors.
Mayors also seek and manage a huge amount of funding that comes from other governments aimed at poverty alleviation. The kinds of funds that are sought, and the programs that are developed with them, all have a major affect on the wellbeing of those least well off in the City. How City contracts are let, the extent to which minority contractors get City business, and the mandated wages and working conditions of people working for such contractors, can also impact the circumstances of low income people. The amount of resources directed toward the schools, and pre and after school programs also have incredible importance. All of these things, and many others, in the day to day management of the City, can have a major impact on creating wealth where it's needed most.
Of course, Fattah, alone among the candidates, has also proposed ways of raising major new funding to be devoted to creating new opportunities for those now left out. But even if that funding fails to materialize, his focus on this issue has much promise to raise its visibility far beyond its current status. Currently the War on Poverty has been, at best, suspended in the national consciousness. Many thought Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath would place it back on the national agenda. They seem to be wrong. Balancing the budget seems to be the highest domestic priority, even with the Democrats in charge of Congress. In that context even the Chair of a powerful subcommittee of Congress will have little capacity to steer substantial poverty fighting funds to this City or any other. What is needed, and what Fattah is seeking, is to have the bully pulpit of the leadership of a major City from which to once more raise the visibility and importance of this issue. That's why it's so important to elect him mayor, rather than merely retain him as one voice in a Congressional leadership intent on going in a different direction.
I appreciate these tributes
...but are we going to get some testimonies for the other candidates, or has YPP become an arm of Ray's official work for the Fattah campaign? it's starting to make me a bit queasy, and I'm an information hound. have the other folks been scared off?
acm
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
— Margaret Mead
Ob disclaimer: I'm rooting for Nutter, Stier, Ruben, Toy, Untermeyer, and a bunch of other candidates in May.
Nutter Butters
The blog has just as many testimonial posts in favor of Nutter as there are for Fattah.
_______________________
I support, but do not work or volunteer for Dwight Evans
but none of the Nutter
but none of the Nutter testimonials have been bumped to the front page...
and as for the claim that Fattah will not be able to deliver specific funds to Philadelphia from his seat on the Appropriations Committee, I'd just like suggest Stan and others read a post I wrote a couple months back that went through the $1B a Republican with a similar level of seniority delivered during the last Congress to his home district.
If Fattah is as effective as Ray and Stan claim he is, there is no reason why he cannot deliver to Philadelphia $1B (if not more), especially considering how important Pennsylvania (and Philadelphia specifically) to national electoral politics.
______________________________
Phillyville
I guess I only read the front page
I only read the front page, and thus was surprised to see this, which feels like the third Fattah tribute in maybe 10 days. (now I'll go back and look -- maybe I'm reporting more impression than fact.) so it struck me. happy to be proven wrong. it just seems like a community blog that seems to have a bunch of diverse mutterers in the comments, at least, would manage more feature posts about the range of candidates -- certainly there's grumbling and dissent in just about every thread anyway, so I presume that there's not much additional risk to putting your opinions out there. I have no real grip on the depth of diaries, or about the process that causes a subset to get front-paged, so just putting the question out there.
acm
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
— Margaret Mead
already bored with disclaimers: supporting Nutter, Stier, Ruben, Toy, Ackelsburg, Roberts, Quinonez-Sanchez, Untermeyer... carpenter... green-ceisler.. erdos... zzzzz
Huh?
Dan has bumped a couple posts in support of Nutter to the front page.
---
Check out my blog!
I am currently working for Marc Stier and Ellen Green-Ceisler.
But, one I wrote dealing
But, one I wrote dealing with an important piece of policy (the one about planning) that was critical of Fattah was bumped--until Fattah Himself responded. Hardly even.
I do not mind reading human interest stories like the one above. But, if I'm taking the time out of my day to write something important that is based on POLICY not personality, I think it should be given some consideration.
Brady will still be there
and as Chair of the Philly Dems he has a lot of clout. So we'll hardly be bereft of influence. However, if we could duplicate Fattah and have one in DC and one here, I'd favor that. But we can't. Given that we have to choose, I think raising the profile of the poverty issue from a perch as mayor of the next great city would be the highest and best use of Fattah's talents. And then, there is the issue of the alternatives for mayor and what I think of them. You already know about what I think of Nutter. My opinion of the others is no better.
ok, numbers
there were, in fact, two Fattah testimonials in the last week. but here are the totals for the month of April, front page only:
Brady: no posts by or for
Evans: one by, none for
Knox: 8 against (heh)
Nutter: one for (April 9)
Fattah: 4 for and one by
you're right, I was imagining the whole thing. it's just one big level plain.
acm
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
— Margaret Mead
Relax
I've never met the guys who run this blog. However, it is an independent forum that is meant to reflect the opinions of those who use it, not an organization or committee with the legal or ethical right to stay neutral, or an FCC controlled news media outlet that is federally obligated to provide equal coverage. Because this is a discussion and not a news forum, it may or may not always entail equal coverage. If you want something more balanced, The Next Mayor is the best place to go.
Don't get me wrong, as an Evans supporter I've read the LEAST amount of positive (or even correct for that matter) coverage of my candidate out of anyone else, so I understand where you're coming from. If I had more time and initiative, I'd take the time to write more posts on him. But in the end, YPP doesn't have any responsibility to remain neutral or balanced.
_______________________
I support, but do not work or volunteer for Dwight Evans
You miss the point. It is
You miss the point. It is selective neutrality or balance that is the complaint.
No I Got It
I guess I'm just so used to my candidate being overlooked and misrepresented on this forum that it no longer bothers me. But I do see exactly what you mean, and didn't mean to downplay the complaint. Just saying it's not worth being frustrated over.
_______________________
I support, but do not work or volunteer for Dwight Evans
Replying to Redfox's comment
“I’m sorry it makes you queasy to hear about how grateful I am to someone who helped me go to the college of my choice. I am extremely grateful, because Fattah has promised to increase the size of CORE Philly scholarships as Mayor, I am really excited about his campaign.”
Look, your story is great
Look, your story is great and we can appreciate the things Fattah has done. The problem is not your story, however.
There may be a legitimate interest in getting new people to post. But, that interest should only go as far as we are applying the same standards to everyone else.
When this interminable campaign is over
maybe we can focus on the media imbalance which really screws us all, the domination of local talk radio by Rush Limpbush and his mimics. Often my radio stays tuned to 1210 after having listened to the Phillies. When I turn it on the next day there's always some SOB or other telling me how the liberals are about to turn my sister into a devil-worshipper. And that's about the only kind of opinion that you can get on talk radio in Philly. Maybe we should go after 1210's advertisers, something that maybe could reunite us again after 5/15.
No one is taking issue with
No one is taking issue with your story or whether Fattah deserves credit for helping you out with your college funds. It's a great story and you deserve credit for your hardwork.
The issue is whether we believe, as Mayor, Fattah can deliver on his promise to increase the size of CORE Philly scholarships as Mayor.
To increase city spending on such programs, the money must come from somewhere. And as Stan knows, money in Philly is scarce.
Fattah has proposed a scheme to lease the airport to raise the funds. The chance of Fattah being able to lease the airport are slim to none. Even Stan and Ray must admit that there is a significant chance that Fattah will not be able to lease the airport. There are just too many pieces that are out of his control.
On the other hand, if Fattah was to keep his seat on the Appropriations Committee, he would absolutely be able to increase the funding for CORE Philly scholarships. The only thing that would prevent Fattah from increasing spending on such programs would be if Philadelphia elected him mayor.
So, to review, if Fattah is elected Mayor, there is maybe a 10-20% (I am being generous) chance he'd be able to increase funding for CORE scholarships.
If Fattah stays in Congress, there is a 100% chance he'd be able to increase funding for CORE scholarships.
If increasing funding for CORE scholarships is your goal, electing Fattah mayor is a stupid bet.
______________________________
Phillyville
And I'm saying
With Fattah as mayor sending his list of priorities down to Brady who's job as City Committee Chair is to deliver for his Democratic mayor, we get the CORE money and more.
And every Sunday everyone gets warm apple pies!!!
C'mon now. Let's try to stick to reality here.
Congress just doesn't work that way.
With both Brady and Fattah in D.C., Brady gets his and Fattah get his.
With Fattah no longer in D.C., Fattah's "his" wouldn't slide over to Brady. The money Fattah would have been able to deliver to Philly slides over to some schlub in Ohio or Florida or Arizona.
If peeps are serious about funding anti-poverty programs, they should keep Fattah in Congress. That's where the real money is. As opposed to all the imaginary money Fattah has based his entire agenda.
Pardon me but all the airport stuff is just "apple-pie-in-the-sky" nonsense.
______________________________
Phillyville
and if only
if only this wasn't how Congress worked at all, or City Hall, or any part of government that should serve everybody. but I guess it's the system we have, and I surely appreciate anything Ours get for Us for now.
it's an interesting question what people can achieve from different offices, and I'm not totally convinced that we know the answer. (for that matter, there's still a part of me that is amazed that people with national offices want to be mayors. but then again, (a) I'm a small-town yokel, and (b) the executive does have magical allure.)
acm
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
— Margaret Mead
diclaimer variant of the hour: I volunteer for Stier, I flier for NN, and I'm rooting for Nutter, Ruben, Toy, Erdos, Green-Ceisler, and some other people.
Here's the offical answer
[this is what our phonebankers tell people here at the Fattah campaign when asked]
What I would add to it is in answer to ACM: I agree that we don't really know what people are capable of in different offices. That's why so many of us liked Seth Williams. He ran for DA and had a really fresh approach to the power of the office that resonated.
It's also why I like Fattah: This is Philly. Whoever we elect to Congress will bring home the bucks. If there was a Mayor in power who actually worked with all members of all legislative delegations to implement a solid strategy to save the city AND figured out an independent source of local money, we could do a lot of stuff.
The airport deal can happen--Congress is set to approve the bill and the airline carriers in Chicago have been sold. The same can happen here. The proceeds raised from the lease can be invested right away in improving our local economy. If the deal does not work, rest assured, Fattah, and all of us, will figure out a way to fund programs to send kids to college and improve early childhood education ABOVE AND BEYOND what the feds do.
There is no guarantee we will elect a dem to the white house and, even if we do, our own party's committment to economic justice is wavering at the national level. Philly needs to have some resources at hand to take care of its own problems and our lack of college graduates is killing us.
I think Fattah has demonstrated that he can work with a lot of folks to get stuff done--like he did in DC when he got R legislators to fund GEAR-UP--and I think his strategy to reduce poverty as a way to build a solid revenue base for the city for the long-haul makes the most sense.
I know Sam disagrees, but Fattah has a truly progressive vision and will be a real mayor for all Philadelphians. If you agree, don't bother to write back, just come volunteer with us at 100 S. Broad Street or call me at (215) 636-9850. I can put you to work right away.
Beg to differ
that a big City that produces a 400,000 majority for federal Democratic candidates gets its goodies immediately sliced in half when a rep is replaced. I think there's a limit on what one city can get, and it's not at all clear that either Fattah or Brady would have been at quota if they were the only seniored Philly rep around. Furthermore, it matters what the mayor wants in terms of what the remaining rep is going to ask for and get. So, if you like Fattah's priorities, then you like Fattah sending his list down to DC.
Increasing College Scholarships Happens in D.C. Not Philly
To increase the size of your college scholarship he needs to be in Washington, not Philadelphia
Not with Brady, the party chair
in Washington delivering to Fattah, our Democratic mayor.
Why is this response in quotations?
Does this mean that someone is posting on Renata's behalf under her name?
I support Michael Nutter for Mayor
Or someone is telling her
Or someone is telling her what to post.
But, it is odd. I wanted to comment on it at first, but feared the Fattah-wrath.
Keep Fattah in Congress (out of City Hall)
I applaud and support the Congressmans positions as a federal representative. I was excited about his candidacy at first. He has unfortunatly demonstrated he does not understand fiscal policy and how it creates jobs. Center City provides roughly 60% of Philadelphia's revenue. Fattah will slaughter this goose laying golden eggs whereas Nutter will expand egg production creating more revenue to solve our problems with.
With Fattah in Congress on the appropriations committee, with a Democrat controlled House and Senate, and next year hopefully a Democratic President, Fattah will be in a position to deliver great things to Philadelphia. Things that as Mayor he could only dream about.
At the city level Nutter has demonstrated at Forum after Forum he has the better handle on local issues. That's why we need Nutter in City Hall.
Do you want to elaborate on how Fattah will slaughter the goose?
That's wonderful imagery. What in the world do you mean by it? Wouldn't putting money in the hands of the desperate poor, relieving them of the need to go into the drug trade and commit crimes, and making them capable of bringing money to spend downtown and elsewhere, wouldn't that be of some use to the goose?
When you give money away
When you give money away that's exactly what happens you give it away. We've learned from economic history the mid sixties programs did not work. Money needs to enter a viable economy and be returned to people through legitimate work. I've heard Fattah speak about entreprneurship at Forums. Instead of building center city providing thousands of jobs he'll turn all our underskilled into self employed roofers, self employed carpenters: {thereby depressing the wages in that particular skill area}. (These were his words) Building the center city skyline which Fattah has no use for provides immediate high paying jobs, uses local services expanding the local economy, and creates permanent jobs for many people who live in the neighborhoods, thereby returning the money to the neighborhoods. They spend their money in the neighborhoods and create more jobs there. More people working generate greater spending, greater tax revenue and thus we have more money for more schools. Rendell understood this and demonstrated how success in Center City helps the whole city. This explains Manayunk, Northern Liberties, and Fairmount. It's just beginning in Roxborough and East Falls.
It economics 101 Stan. The multiplier effect.
Taxing autos which come into center city will kill the goose. We are not London or New York. Fix Septa first, but to do that you have generate jobs and money from Center City.
Business knows it, athletes know it, You have too accentuate the positive before you can effectively deal with the negative.
what mid-sixties programs?
Listen man, FAFSA and PHEAA work. These programs give money to kids to go to college. It just does not give enough. And these programs rely on too many loans, and not enough grants. All of the big ivies are starting to give free rides to qualified students, but Temple and Lincoln and West Chester and Millersville and CCP are not endowed like that, which is where most kids go to school.
That's where scholarship money comes in. There's only so much available in the federal budget. I know we've entered the final 2 weeks of the election where people will say anything to tear down someone else (cause god forbid you actually talk about YOUR candidate will address anything) but, contrary to popular belief the federal government has been pretty tight with student aid money--in fact it was a Democratic Congress that inverted the grant/loan distribution of funds.
Philly can't wait forever to solve its own problems and compared to every other US city of our size, our college graduation rate is abysmal. That's sad because there are high-wage jobs here which we fill with people outside the region. If we filled them with people who lived in the city already, or even the region, you'd see more stabilization in property value, a boost to the local economy and more.
WE can only do that if more kids have college degrees and we can only do that if we face poverty head on and do what we can to invest in its reduction.
We all loved Rendell, like we loved Clinton, but this revisionist history is getting old: Rendell did little to address joblessness or poverty when he was Mayor. We're in better fiscal and mental shape, and now we can.
I agree with Ray on the
I agree with Ray on the revisionist history of the Rendell administration. Not only did he not address poverty, he ignored education for 8 years. The last mayor to have authority over the system did nothing.
And just to add to what Ray said,
how damned long are we supposed to wait for all that trickle to come on down. Since the sixties that you deride, we've been following your model in this town and just about everywhere else in the country. One big project after another, one tax break for big business and construction projects after another, one land giveaway after another, for the same interests. Where is that fantastic multiplier effect hiding? When is it coming out? Do we need to have a 30% poverty rate, 40%? Does it show up then? Why didn't the Convention Center cure poverty? Why not the Center City commuter tunnel? Why not the stadiums? Why not the skyscrapers that were tax abated into existence? When do we declare the post-sixties experiment to be over?
Revisionist hostory
Revisionist hostory indeed.
Schools did improve under Rendell, and when he left office we were in better shape financially and mentally than we are now. additionally our city was safer.
Your revisionist history borders on outright lies. Creating jobs is not trickle down economics. You either don't understnd economics, or you think I don't. I ran my own business for ten years, worked my way through college, and have an MBA. I may not be a Wharton MBA, but I understand the basics.
You can't just give money away as Stan has suggested and expect the economy to hum merrily along.
Whoa, whoa
I'm a Nutter guy through and through, and I approve of Michael's Street criticism...but I've got a kid in the city's public schools (my ex-girlfriend's daughter but she thinks of me as her dad--anyway) ANYWAY: the only argument about David Hornbeck, Rendell's School District Superintendent, is whether he was a disaster or an UNMITIGATED disaster.
Yo, Street (whom I voted for twice) has been a disappointment in many ways, but he improved the district more than did Rendell. Traded a lot for it though.
We're on the same page re: giveaways and the foolishness of applying the language of national economic criticism to municipal government (ie, cutting the GRT to save small businesses is NOT trickle-down economics).
But fair's fair. Street was better for the district than was Rendell.
Michael's commitment to reducing class size first will make him the BEST Education mayor
Proudly supporting the BEAUTIFUL Philly For Change Council Slate and MICHAEL NUTTER for Mayor
I was no fan of Hornbeck,
I was no fan of Hornbeck, but realize the schools have had record increases in funding with the State takeover and examine where we are now. Our financial situation is worse now than it was five years ago. As for test scores, they went up in each of Hornbecks final three years. Student behavior under Hornbeck was less violent than it is now. Politically, Hornbeck did not have Vallas's skill. Managerially he did not have Vallas's skill, but results wise as far as test scores go, Hornbeck got them going in the right direction. Vallas who I admire and respect is leaving shortly. He has accomplished much. But we are only incrementally better off than we were five years ago and next year will likely be a huge slide backwards. Vallas plays politics and hides numbers well. But our class sizes are increasing, the amount of split classes has increased, the dropout rate hovers around 50%, summer school is a joke, and violence runs wild inside our schools; Next year most schools have had to reduce the amount of teachers on hand due to budget cuts.
Stan, it must be nice to be
Stan, it must be nice to be retired with (I assume) a pension from city taxpayers and have the means and time to help start Neighborhood Networks. I work a full-time job (and have to travel out of the city because city-based job opportunities are limited) and also run a small consulting business on the side (which takes up most of my weekends). I live in the city because I want my tax dollars to go to educate city kids. I have been fortunate in alot of ways, and I feel part of my responsbility is to be as actively engaged in overcoming poverty as I can be with limited time. I pay the BPT and despise the hours it takes to figure out how much I owe every year. It is almost inpenetrable in it's absurdity. I don't mind paying it, I hate spending a day or more figuring it out.
I have studied both the outmigration of jobs from the city, and more importantly, the daily commuting patterns of too many working class city residents to not believe that one of the most successful strategies of increasing the number of jobs in the city is to improve the business climate by lowering onerous business taxes and, perhaps more importantly, reducing the amount of red tape and bureaucratic idiocy.
There are tens of thousands of city residents that travel an hour or more to low and middle wage suburban jobs because they can't find work within the city boundaries. Ride the R5 or the Airport Line, or the 104, 107, 112 or 124/125 buses early weekday mornings and experience for yourself the hoops so many people must go through on a daily basis to put bread on their table. I have and their dedication is inspiring. Those dozens of hours a month commuting is time spent away from helping their kids with schoolwork and other luxuries many of us take for granted. Compare Boston or Washington and you will see a much higher ratio of jobs in the city vs. city residents. Philly unfortunately compares much closer with Detroit, Cleveland and St. Louis in that respect.
I admire Renata a great deal and wish her well in her future endeavors. I hope all of her dreams come true. Even if we successfully educate all of our children, there won't be jobs for them to fill so they will move on to greener pastures. My third job for a decade (that I gave up a few years ago) was as an adjunct faculty at Temple teaching night classes. These were working/middle class kids and young adults (into their 30s) who were generally working full-time and improving themselves. It was the most diverse group I have ever been associated with. Far too many of them left the area after graduation because of lack of opportunities. And only a select few wrangled jobs in the city, most that stayed local ended up working outside the city.
The lack of opportunity in the City of Philadelphia is our greatest obstacle. Keeping Fattah in Washington where he can send millions of dollars back to Philly and voting Nutter in as mayor where he can improve the business climate is crucial in overcoming it. Stan, get out of your ivory tower and get real.
Well, first
thanks for the gratuitous insults; it shows that you're ready to jump into this blog as if a veteran. But if you expect me to apologize for having a City pension, or for helping to organize Neighborhood Networks, good luck. (NN, btw, has not taken a position in the mayoral race.)
Second, I don't deny any of the problems you mention. The question is how to solve them. There's one strain of thinking that says cutting or eliminating the BPT is the way. Yet the only real analysis you supply to support that point relates to your personal distaste in paying it and working on the forms. I can empathize with that, and as I keep pointing out in these dialogues, I have put up a long post on ways to reform the tax and make it much less onerous, especially to small business, without losing revenue. You can find it here: http://youngphillypolitics.com/node/1926
But my previous point remains. There is no evidence that "improving the business climate" drills down to the issue of poverty and relieves it. We have pursued such policies, although not in the tax realm, for years. They have not worked. Previous threads have also shown that there is no correlation between the ups and downs of City taxes, and unemployment in the City relative to the state, Philly suburbs or the country. So focusing directly on poverty, rather than indirectly through helping business, is a route that I believe, along with Fattah, is long overdue. This is not inconsistent with improving the business climate in a fiscally responsible way, but it is not the same. We need to do both.
Getting real
I understand the fact that we all want salvation. Even for those of us who are atheists or agnostic, we live in a judeo-christian society that seems to emphasize the idea that there is always a SOLUTION, a one shot that can change everything. For some, our savior is not Christ, but science, reason or just good old-fashioned post-modern decontructionism. That said, datahead, when you say this:
I get the sense that in your quest for an answer to a problem that upsets and overwhelms you, as it does many of us, that you chose the first and easiest to understand answer that came up.
However, as stupid as our business tax structure is (and it is stupid, and it's why EVERY mayoral candidate has pledged to change it) taxes themselves are not the reason that jobs have moved to the burbs.
I wrote about this at great length here,which I recommend reading if you want to see my much lengthier rationale, but in short, Philadelphia has bled jobs for years because:
1- The federal government created the suburbs in the 1950's, at the behest of the military-industrial complex, and once people were lured to large, new suburban homes with plush, green lawns, the jobs were sure to follow.
2- Our economy went global in the 1970's, as technology made it easier to ship goods from afar where lower labor costs improved corporate bottom lines.
3- The industries of the 1950's, right before the industrial decline I describe above, were expanding their physical plants and at that time, there was no more room to build in Philadelphia making the western and northern suburbs, with large parcels of cheap land, attractive options for growing companies.
That's why people commute to the burbs to get jobs and that's why jobs are in the burbs.
Is the BPT a problem for small business? Yes.
Would some companies move to the city if the tax structure was improved? Possibly.
Is the BPT the source of city's economic issues? No.
However, Brett Mandell and a whole bunch of other folks have skillfully made taxes a wedge issue, coining silly terms like "job-killing" BPT. I know Brett is a nice guy and I don't think he has done this for nefarious purposes, but because I think he cares as much about "saving" Philadelphia as the rest of us and he wanted to come up with an "answer."
There is no single answer to Philadelphia's problems. However, creating opportunity, as Fattah has suggested resonates the most with me and I disagree that him being in Congress is the best place to make it happen.
Having Fattah spend every day in City Hall, attaching the importance of creating opportunity to everything that city government does is important to me. It's important to all of the people who, work as hard as they can, and can't get ahead.
I can not afford to buy a home in the neighborhood in which I grew up in. I am still paying back student loans to a college where tuition was only $4000 a semester. My boyfriend is still paying tens of thousands of student loan dollars back and he has a job with a Master's degree and still makes under $30,000 a year.
If I really thought cutting the BPT or eliminating it as was the mantra from tax "reformers" for a long time, could create economic opportunity, I'd be all for it. But there is absolutely no proof that cutting the BPT can raise wages.
What we do know is that larger businesses in Philadelphia and the Chamber of Commerce are perfectly willing to spend some money funding groups like Philadelphia Forward because they are not planning to leave Philadelphia for a variety of other reasons (like ease of transport of workers to CC locations or access to highway and rail infrastructures).
They have nothing to lose by pushing hard for tax cuts because it will improve their profit margins, and in today's economy, fractions of a point in profit rise are important.
The agenda of big business is not the agenda of city government (although there can and should be intersections). I understand that we all want our own personal jesuses, but the fact is that cutting taxes will not save us.
To Stan and Ray
First to Stan. I am all for real tax reform that would include many of his proposals. And I think what is the most onerous of all is to have low income Philly wage earners pay 4% (give or take a little) of their income in city taxes. I still remember sitting down with the liberal lion David Cohen (not of Comcast fame - but of former City Council fame) in his son's living room and discussing his attempt to change this with him. It's a sin that the income tax is not progressive, and low wage earners rarely get to declare their city taxes as federal deductions because the standard deduction is greater than their itemized deductions. It is money right out of their pocket, rather than money out of the fed's pockets for those higher earners.
Now to Ray. The dataset that Carolyn, David, David, Ira and Bill (I don't know Nancy) worked with was the same data that I did my graduate work with. So I am very familiar with their book and the arguments they laid out. I don't disagree with any of their findings and consider CDD&B as intellectual mentors. Firms started relocating out of the city way back in the 1920s due to technological obsolescence, cheaper labor and the need for large tracts of land. There are hundreds of cases I could cite.
I will offer the move out of the city of the Acme Markets warehouse that occurred about 5 years ago as a reality the city faces. They consolidated their dry Upland Way warehouse and their cold storage facility in SW Philly into a huge distribution center right off exit 22 of the turnpike in Lancaster County. It allows them to get their trucks in and out of the facility much, much faster than the obsolete warehouses in Philly. They probably save thousands of man hours a year and lots of wear and tear on their trucks by doing this. There was no way they would locate in the city. Simply because there are not large tracts with the accessbility that the site in Lancaster County had. It doesn't matter what the city does, lower taxes, "improve the infrastructure for business and industry", improve education in the case of that facility. It was going no matter what. They also fired all of their wage workers (who were earning about $18-22 a hour) and replaced them with $10 a hour workers. I know several of them.
Philadelphia is 135-6 sq miles and has few acceptable large plots of land left with really good accessibility. Right now there is a fight over the former Navy Yard, the Produce Distribution Center, the Port and its docks and the location of the casinos. Why? Because each understands the importance of accessible land. I am a runner and run through West, North & South Philly on a regular basis and have always been amazed at the number of large trucks trying to negotiate alleys and tight corners to get to the warehouse. I see fewer and fewer over the years. Kiss those jobs goodbye. There are very few good business reasons to stay. It doesn't matter what the city does, it won't matter.
So where does that leave us? With an economy that is based on technology, service, health, finance, insurance, legal, accounting, engineering, etc. industries. Believe it or not, there are lots of good paying jobs in all of those industries. In fact, you will see that as globalization continues, the wages in those types of jobs will accelerate much more quickly than those industrial/warehouse/manufacturing jobs that the city has been losing for the better part of six decades. And they find themselves in a global marketplace where access to intellectual talent and a good business environment are paramount.
What built our industrial sector in the mid 1800's was lots of small jobbers, shops, artisans, workers and entrepeneurs that created an industrial network of companies/workers that was second to none. You built your industry/factory in Philly because that's where all the expertise, trained workforce, and supply houses were located. The cost of startup was much less in Philly than elsewhere because the cost of recreating that infrastructure was prohibitive. That has not happened in Philly for the industries of the future.
In terms of building the environment where "the need for good jobs and a solid infrastructure for business and industry" can be successful, many cities are crushing us. In terms of smaller cities, Austin and Raleigh have become key centers of their industry, and in terms of peer cities, Boston, San Francisco, Dallas and Atlanta have been beating our pants off.
I am as far from a supply-sider as you can find. But I do look at all of the facts and have read, studied and thought long about this extensively. Improving educational opportunities is crucial. But in today's work world and in the industries of the present and future, people learn on the job much more than they learn in school. College graduation has become a starting point, let's try to recreate the Philly of the 1800's not for the industries of the past, but for the industries of the future. We already have enormous resources to draw upon, but we have been failing big time. It's time for change.
I support Michael Nutter for Mayor.
The danger of Nutter Butterism (Buttership?)
I see a number of reasons to feel that if elected, Nutter may be an effective mayor. Primarily, I believe that he can potentially provide effective "reform" leadership. It also seems he can be an effective politician, in the sense of accomplishing tasks - as proven by his history on City Council.
But what disturbs me is that so many of his supporters here at YPP seem to be so willing to dismiss legitimate questions posed about him. As "progressives," it seems to me that you should share concerns about the potential similarities between his views and those of Republicans on such a basic issue as taxation. Why are you not concerned about the potential overreach of his "stop and frisk" policy proposals? What about his close ties to corporate entities and his long term advocacy for policies that potentially are more focused on profitability than they are on balancing profitability with across the spectrum benefits for all Philadelphians? Why are you not concerned that his lack of widespread support in the black community might limit his effectiveness? Why are you not concerned that his support comes largely from the same constituency that supported Rendell's administration, which arguably was more focused on the interests of Center City residents than on residents in the poorer neighborhoods in this City? Why are you not concerned about legitimate questions about his ethics such as: (1) lack of proactive advocacy during the whole "spinning the shit" situation, or (2) his politically expedient deal-making with Carol Campbell?
I'm not sure that any of those questions, or others, are "deal-breakers," for me; from what I've seen, there isn't enough evidence to make a judgment one way or the other with anything close to 100% certainty.
But I think that these questions need to be asked. Maybe you're 100% certain that none of these questions are legitimate - but it disturbs me when these questions are generally dismissed by Nutter supporters as the rants of luntics.
Nutter has had much opportunity to address these issues more directly and openly than he has. He has had opportunity to offer assurances that he is at least senstive to the legitimacy of different perspectives - but I haven't seen him do so. And I have to wonder if part of the reason is that he has had such unquestioning support. And what if he does get elected?
Maybe I'm just too much of a cynic - but my belief is that as a politician, Nutter is likely to respond in ways that will minimize opposition and maximize support. If he gets elected, I hope the Nutter supporters are right, and that he's above reproach, that he truly will fulfill all of our "progressive" dreams. On the other hand, given that if elected he will be most likely to respond to tough questions if they are being presented by those who have been his strongest advocates, I hope that some of you Nutter partisans will keep a little skepticism in reserve if he begins implementing policies that indeed, lend validity to the concerns of those "progressives" that were skeptical all along.
The danger of S_tanism
I recommend that you listen to Nutter's Inquirer interview at this page.
Why are you not concerned about the potential overreach of his "stop and frisk" policy proposals?
I am somewhat concerned about this. I am also concerned about murders. Properly enacted, I don't think the stop, question, and frisk would be troublesome. Improperly enacted, I think it would be a problem. I think if it is properly supervised, it can be adjusted as needed and think that Nutter is observant enough to do this.
He has addressed this in the Inquirer interview at some length. Overall, I prefer Nutter's approach (something must be done NOW) to Street's approach (shit happens in the big city).
What about his close ties to corporate entities and his long term advocacy for policies that potentially are more focused on profitability than they are on balancing profitability with across the spectrum benefits for all Philadelphians?
You have been listening to Stan for too long. I disagree with the premise of your question. I think that taxes must be reduced to bring jobs that would benefit all Philadelphians. I think this is Nutter's motivation, not increasing profits of corporations.
Why are you not concerned that his lack of widespread support in the black community might limit his effectiveness?
Again, I reject the premise of this question. No other candidate will have more support of city voters than the winner of the election. Nutter is #2 among black voters in the most recent poll. Would Fattah's lack of support in the white community (?) limit his effectiveness?
Why are you not concerned that his support comes largely from the same constituency that supported Rendell's administration, which arguably was more focused on the interests of Center City residents than on residents in the poorer neighborhoods in this City?
When will you stop beating your wife? All of these questions are as absurdly skewed as if a Fox News Anchor were asking them.
I think Nutter is the best candidate. I hope supporters and detractors of the Clark, Dilworth, Tate, Rizzo, Green, Goode, Rendell, and Street administrations all vote for him so we can have the best possible mayor.
Why are you not concerned about legitimate questions about his ethics such as: (1) lack of proactive advocacy during the whole "spinning the shit" situation,
What should he have done? Supported a Republican candidate for Mayor? Made an enemy of every other politician in the city? Honestly, spell out what you think Councilman Nutter should have done in 2003.
or (2) his politically expedient deal-making with Carol Campbell?
He talks a bit about this in the Inquirer interview. I find it odd that you ask this question after praising him because "he can be an effective politician, in the sense of accomplishing tasks." If you want to play guilt by association, I'm pretty sure Nutter would come out cleanest in this race.
Listen to the interview. I think most of your concerns are addressed as good as they ever will be in that interview (except the shit-spinning which was addressed a long time ago).
EDIT: Stan, I mean nothing personal with the subject line. I think it is a funny post title.
----
I support Michael Nutter for Mayor. My slate.
Ok, let's look past your subject heading
because if I didn't, I might be inclined to think that you're engaging in partisan hyperbole.
But then I find that you seem to imply that being concerned about Nutter's stop and frisk rhetoric and being concerned about the rate of murders are somehow mutually exclusive. Improperly enacted, his proposed policy is unsupportable. Properly enacted, it is still concerning to me. I'm not going to lay out the entire debate again - there were a couple of good threads of back and forth at YPP a while back - but clearly, there are legitimate concerns about a stop and frisk policy. Such a policy has very real risks of alienating law enforcement from the very people it needs to reach, and there are "opportunity" costs that could come from prioritizing such a policy over other methodologies. Again, what troubles me is that even while you express some concern, you limit your concerns to the "properly/improperly enacted" dichotomy and then rationalize the policy by comparing it to Street's policies; the issue is bigger than that.
You have been listening to Stan for too long. I disagree with the premise of your question. I think that taxes must be reduced to bring jobs that would benefit all Philadelphians. I think this is Nutter's motivation, not increasing profits of corporations.
So, you do exactly what I expressed concern about. You dismiss legitimate questions as "listening to Stan for too long." First of all, Stan has a long history of observing Nutter up close and personal. Whether or not you agree with Stan's conclusions, I would hope that his observations would factor into your perspective. But beyond your dismissal of both Stan, and my ability (as a skeptic), to think independently of Stan's observations, you create a false debate about whether taxes being reduced would potentially have benefits for all Philadelphians. I never dismissed that possibility. But I am also not willing to take it on faith that an economic policy that has reducing business taxes as a primary (if not the primary) component is something to take lightly. My point is that I have no idea of what Nutter's "motivation" is, but as a "progressive," I am inherently skeptical of an approach that so closely resembles a "trickle-down" mentality. And again, what bothers me is the fact that you blithely dismiss such skepticism at best, and knowingly mischaracterize such skepticism at worst. I can only hope that if Nutter gets elected, not all of his supporters will be so inclined.
Would Fattah's lack of support in the white community (?) limit his effectiveness?
Yes. And it is a concern of mine about his candidacy. One of the reasons I would consider a vote for Brady is that his candidacy does have a better racial mixture among his supporters. So, again, your willingness to simply dismiss any concern fits exactly into the pattern that troubles me.
I hope supporters and detractors of the Clark, Dilworth, Tate, Rizzo, Green, Goode, Rendell, and Street administrations all vote for him so we can have the best possible mayor.
Fine. Stick you head in the sand and ignore the fact that a signficant part of Street's appeal was that many Philadelphians felt that Rendell's policies did not address their needs, but were skewed to the benefit of a specific constiuency. Ignore the history of racial divisions in the Philly electorate. I'm not so inclined. I would hope that if elected, Nutter would not share your indifference to such an important issue.
Honestly, spell out what you think Councilman Nutter should have done in 2003,
He should have proactively spoken up at the time in a way that was consistent with how he later admitted he viewed the situation. And more than that, he shouldn't have rationalized his failure to do so.
I find it odd that you ask this question after praising him because "he can be an effective politician, in the sense of accomplishing tasks."
It's troubling to me that you would equate making deals with the likes of Campbell to being an effective politician. Perhaps I'm naive, but I view being an effective politician as being a wide enough attribute as to include rejecting making deals that undermine the voice of voters for the purpose of political expediency.
My subject heading was a
My subject heading was a direct response to yours, and going for humor. Partisan hyperbole? Was yours fair and balanced?
Have you listened to the interview? That's probably your best source for answers unless you just want to argue with me.
I may have not answered your questions to your satisfaction, but the questions were extremely slanted. Most were not about what Nutter wants, but what others think of him, and many of the premises were questionable ("his close ties to corporate entities," "his long term advocacy for policies that potentially are more focused on profitability," "lack of widespread support in the black community," "his support comes largely from the same constituency that supported Rendell's administration, which arguably was more focused on the interests of Center City residents").
How about calling Democrats the party of terrorists? Given that Fattah supports a convicted cop-killer ....
You probably aren't going to get answers that satisfy you. The interviews are your best bet. City Paper also has mp3s of interviews that I haven't listened to.
But I have no idea how I am supposed to answer: "Given that Nutter hates the poor and hates education, what will he do to help the poor and the schools?"
----
I support Michael Nutter for Mayor. My slate.
There you go, Aardhart
Check out the comments to Stan's recent post. Proof that having differing perspectives on Nutter doesn't need to be reduced to this level of discouse.
Is that an accusation or an
Is that an accusation or an apology?
----
I support Michael Nutter for Mayor. My slate.
Fattah in Philly
I applaud Renata for her post, and wish her luck. Her story proves that as Congressman, Chaka Fattah was effective, but I believe, that he will be even more effective as mayor. Like many have said, by leaving Congress, Congressman Fattah gives up the opportunity to steer some money towards Philadelphia, but as Mayor, he will be able to use his resources to seek funds, and will be able to see that it is well spent. Congressman Fattah has, and
could, do great work in Congress, but Philadelphia needs him here.
This conversation is out of control
Renatta's mother volunteers for our campaign. Renatta wanted to help out, but she is away at college, so she wrote this piece, and posted it herself. She is in the middle of finals right now, so I imagine she is not able to be on blogs as much as all of you hard-workers to respond to these comments.
I do not promote Mayoral posts to the front page, following a rule that I created with Dan in December. I have to agree with DeWitt here that the conversation in response to Renatta might be better focused on the substance of what she is saying rather than charges of bias.
If you have an issue with bias, ask Dan. I think these charges are pretty silly, as Nutter has gotten a lot of time on this blog including front page posts by Sam and Mike within the last 2 weeks. However, if that is your issue, talk to Dan and maybe do it on email so that a real conversation about the ISSUES can occur on this thread.
However, blogs are by their very nature, biased sources of news and so if your expectation is that posts are promoted or written without opinion by their authors or their editors, you might be at the wrong place.
If you want to see real bias, you should look at the first year of this blog when we spent 6 months praising Seth Williams every 5 minutes.
In the meantime, I am glad that Renatta posted here. I told her about this blog because it was my hope that beyond talking about her very personal and real reasons for supporting Fattah, that she might stick around AFTER the election and get involved with our online community.
I know reading the same commments from the same 5 or 6 white boys is fun and all, but as has been my role in YPP since I first got involved, I like to seek out more voices to add to the mix.
I'm not white, I'm Italian.
I'm not white, I'm Italian. :)
I don't think there is a problem with reaching out to new and different types of people, Ray. But, if there is a Fattah bias on here, say so. Let's not pretend anymore. That is all I really have to say.
Umm..have I not been clear?
I work for Fattah, I plan to vote for Fattah, and I think he is the best candidate.
Renatta was pretty clear that she supports Fattah too. Where is the bias? What is the issue?
It's on the front page, is
It's on the front page, is the issue. It is fluff.
i am italian and i am white
white people, no matter what their ethnic background is, are white. and they have privilege that opens doors to them by virtue of the color of their skin not opened to others.
men also have privellege just by virtue of hormones and genitalia.
As Chris Bowers has proved in his blog surveys over at MyDD, most bloggers are white and men and earn a lot of money a year (i am the exception there I guess, but certainly some of our lawyer bloggers here are not).
YPP is not as bad as it could be, but it is a lot of white boys here all the time.
It was a joke, Ray.
It was a joke, Ray. Sometimes things are just . . . jokes.
Whatever demographic I fall into is mostly a result of it being earned, with likely some doors that may or may not have opened. I really can't say if that is true or not.
Yes, there are tons of white boys on here. And, perhaps that isn't such a great thing. But, at the same time, YPP is a great place for people to come together regardless of what they look like or their income level. This isn't the skull and bones society, that is for sure.
Thank Hannibal
for your distinction of being Italian and not white.
Seth
Ah Carthage. What happened
Ah Carthage. What happened to you, Carthage.
Hannibal was an amazing military commander. For those of you who do not know, it took a decade for the Romans to get him out of the republic. And, they did it by invading North Africa. How did they win--by adopting some of Hannibal's military tactics.
Quite impressive.
Check out Flaubert's Salammbo
For a really fun (read: fantastic, violent, sexy) version of what happened to Carthage.
Historically, it's pretty irresponsible but VERY entertaining. Kind of like somebody budget proposals...
Proudly supporting the BEAUTIFUL Philly For Change Council Slate and MICHAEL NUTTER for Mayor
Oh, Sam
and oh, Gaetano. So cute and so disturbing all at once. Do I get to write a front page post now analogizing the blog's relationship to the mayoral race through references to de Sade?
School should be done tomorrow or so, so I'll have nothing but time for that sort of thing.
Jennifer
120 Days of Sodom
Just make sure you keep your Justines and your Juliettes straight in the postmortem.
Proudly supporting the BEAUTIFUL Philly For Change Council Slate and MICHAEL NUTTER for Mayor
I only like Juliette
and next it'll be Salo for YPP movie night or something. Shame of the City, indeed.
Jennifer
totally sorry for the thread jack
it's been suggested that I should have emailed Dan and Ray if concerned about bias, but I didn't really mean to make a formal complaint, just to ask whether there'd be tributes to/from others. if people don't write them, then so it goes. obviously Dan and Ray have a right to whatever viewpoints they want to promote here (and I generally find them enjoyable and productive) -- I guess that Dan's hedging over his vote led me to think he was looking for a broader discussion than that of recent days, but he's hardly responsible for making that happen.
let me add my voice to that of others welcoming a new contributor here, apologizing for anything that made her feel unwelcome, and expressing appreciation to Dan and Ray for the work they do here and the forum they provide for a lot of useful and productive discussion. I'm sure we'll all be glad when this election is over and we can all go back to pestering our representatives to actually get something done. :)
cheers,
acm
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
— Margaret Mead
I'm sure we'll all be glad
Amen. I have heard this from four people today.
For those who actually work in campaigns for a living, I don't know how you do it.
Um, it sucks
Thank you ACM. For those who don't know, ACM is not only an excellent blogger (look at it here or on our blog roll, A Smoke Filled Room) who spends what I imagine is hours putting together "clips" from the local media, as well as her own commentary. ACM is also a leader in real life working to get out the vote for candidates she believes in both in and outside the party structure.
And yes, I too will be glad when this election is over, and not just because of the hours.
There is a good chance yet that Nutter, Knox or Fattah can win and the reality is no matter who is our next mayor, a lot of people here online and out there offline are going to have work their asses off for a long time to make the kinds of changes we have been prescribing on YPP for the past 2 years.
This blog has spent more time talking about change without the structure of an election to refer to and the truth is nothing ever changes without a lot of people's input.
And after the election we have six months to pressure Street and any incumbents on Council who lose to get working on good legacy legislation.
Joining chorus of those who will be glad when election is over
What is especially difficult about this election is that many friends and allies are on different sides. I expect things will further deteriorate.
There is a tendency rampant among white progressives to imply that those who disagree with them must be racists. We did this in the 60’s and a younger generation continues the tradition—-albeit in a more subtle way. (It’s been my experience that African-Americans are less likely to throw around the racism charge to score points in an argument and more likely to reserve it for the real thing.)
The most vicious rumors will not be circulated on the blogs (at least not by bloggers who post under their own names) but by word of mouth in the last few days leading up to election.
Supporting Michael Nutter for Mayor
Holy Crap.
Holy Crap.
I just got out of a final, and did not expect this. But, first of all, a few thoughts:
1)For those who want to create some fairness thing... Get the hell over yourselves. At no time, in no way, does this site not have an editorial slant of some kind. (And, besides one or two people of note, I haven't heard too many people complaining about Mr Payday loan. So, if you want something else, a message board, a blog with no discernible slant, etc., then buy a domain name, set up a blog, and let people write what they want. I just don't care. It is a wide internet out there, and there are plenty of talented writers, and plenty of uncovered topics for people to discuss and cover. My life is too hectic to spend the time I can on this site dealing with that type of BS. We are never fair. Ask Tom Knox.
2)The purpose of this blog is not to get Fattah elected, nor is it to get Nutter elected. But, as someone who knows who many of the writers are(generally, white guys from age 24-34), while at the same time knowing what the demographics of the City are (distinctly not white guys age 24-34), having different voices on our site is something I actively encourage. If. You. Dont. Like. It. Too. Bad. When someone who traditionally does not write on our blog does so, I care a lot more about that than about what candidate they are supporting, and the last thing I expect is for that post to devolve into BS.
3)The Fattah campaign, potentially because they have Ray on staff, has actively decided to engage YPP. The Nutter campaign has not. (Although Nutter did at one point ask to sit down with a couple of us. I just ran out of time to do it.) Instead, the Nutter campaign did... the exact opposite. They had paid staffers on the damn site, violating everything we have always asked of people, flat out disrespecting us. For those who run blogs, that is a pretty damn basic no-no.
When I talked initially about what I would promote from other people, I said generally, I would put on the front page positive posts. That holds, my personal Knox thing aside. We have also promoted Evans webchats, and have had Alex serve as the moderator of them, etc etc etc. A campaign chooses its path.
4)As far as Gaetano, since he seems to want to air this publicly... One of the only rules I gave when I gave a bunch of people the power to promote their own posts was that they could not do it when it had to do with the mayor or council races. Gaetano and I can discuss this more when his lunch that I am buying turns into a half eaten taco, but, he knows this, because I told him.
This site existed before the mayoral race, and it will exist after it. The goal, to engage young progressives around the city to get involved, remains paramount. When you use a post by someone new to air your gripes, you hurt that mission.
I'm thinking more like a
I'm thinking more like a turkey sandwich from the Reading Terminal, with cheddar cheese and dry.
The election is in two weeks
can we maybe talk more about campaigns and less about the blog?
I know, I know Dan: you have to maintain the site. That's cool. I'm more talking to the Nutter people.
Renata's story is a nice story. It just shows Fattah is a nice guy, with a good, federally-funded, program. It says:
Fattah = Nice guy, good at finding positive ways of spending federal tax dollars
It doesn't show Fattah's possessing the skills of an executive or a mayor or even a grasp of a municipal budget as clear-eyed readers of his proposals--and all us Nutter people--will attest.
Come on, Nutter peeps: the mayor's race is way more fluid than most people expected it would be at this point. Our guy is moving on up, their guy is moving on down, and Knox's ugly affair with Jannie Blackwell is all over the Daily News (you probably won't read many Fattah people's comments on THAT one). Our guy has a shot! Let's not get so worked up over Ray and Dan!
Nutter office: 42 S. 15th Street, Suite 625
Plot City Hall takeover with this Nutter guy at Philly For Change Meetup tomorrow night at 7 at Tritone, 15th and South, and help elect the Beautiful Council Slate!
(It encompasses the whole YPP Nepotism-Plus Slate!)
Really, time's too important to get hung up over bias bullshit.
Proudly supporting the BEAUTIFUL Philly For Change Council Slate and MICHAEL NUTTER for Mayor
A grasp of a municipal budget? You jest
Nutter has a grasp of the municipal budget? You do jest. Kicking sand at Street's budgets, yes he can do that. A grasp of how to do magic tricks with money; yes he has that. But a grasp of how he's going to fulfill his promises costing an admitted $591 million over five years, fund growing City pension deficits and worker health care needs, deal with the PGW disaster, all while giving massive tax cuts to Comcast, Sunoco and Walmart along with every other big and small business in town? He's hardly got that. But he has cast his magic spell over you . . . unless you jest.
"magic spells"!?!?!
funniest comment ever. Stan - you have outdone yourself!!!!
I sincerely hope that this inspires DMAC to add a wizard hat to his DJ Mix Master Mike graphic.
Maybe magic spells are how Nutter is going to conjure a massive hand to reach down from the sky and tear off the top of City Hall!!! Oooo, how fiendish of him!!!
I say we dunk Mike in a pond to see if he floats!!! No, maybe Stan will tell us he knows Mike is a witch because Nutter turned Stan into a newt!!! That would explain everything!!!!!!!
Better yet, maybe Stan should take his cause to the streets, get a bullhorn and hire some guy to walk around in a wizard costume while they shout about how Nutter is going to use magic spells to cut the BPT!!!
Hey, why should Knox be the only guy being attacked by mascots!?!?
______________________________
Phillyville
Thanks for the cogent reply
to my post. It's all that I expected from you . . . and more. Btw, to get as substantive as you, on the City Hall thing, Nutter doesn't have a record of having worked night and day on that. Using magic to cut the BPT, no he hasn't tried that. But work night and day to legislatively repeal the BPT, yes he's actually done that. I just posted the record on that yesterday, DeWitt, good buddy. It's here, posted just for people like you in your blissful state of denial:
http://youngphillypolitics.com/nutters_actual_bpt_repeal_record
Stan, I really thought
Stan,
I really thought your comment was funny. And not in a laughing at you way - the image of Michael Nutter casting spells just tickles my funny bone.
Second, you and I are never going to agree on this because neither of us trusts the other guy's candidate.
You will never believe Nutter is ever going to be anything other than a tool of business interests.
I am never going to believe that Fattah will find the money necessary to fund all of his pie-in-the-sky projects.
At least I have given my reasons for why I don't trust Fattah. And considering Fattah is the only candidate in the field to have been sanctioned by Philadelphia's ethics board, it seems as if at least a few other people agree with my estimation of Cha's integrity.
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Phillyville
oh, and I need to get ready
oh, and I need to get ready to knock on some doors on behalf of Damon Roberts tonight. So that's it for me today.
If anyone has a couple hours this evening and wants to join us, feel free to email me at rubylegs@gmail.com and I'll give you the details.
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Phillyville
If Fattah thought he could pay for his programs
he'd put pricetags on them that you and I could read, discuss, and debate.
He can't, so he doesn't.
Logic would argue that that central lack of accountability should stop a glass-housed Fattah supporter from throwing stones at Nutter's itemized Income/Expenditure budget.
But that logic never stopped you.
I could engage is an income/expenditure debate with someone supporting an emperor who not only has no clothes but whose bureaucratic b.s. proposals would bankrupt a small country.
But I won't.
Proudly supporting the BEAUTIFUL Philly For Change Council Slate and MICHAEL NUTTER for Mayor
I've also posted
on what a sham Nutter's supposedly itemized "income/Expenditure budget is. It's a complete farce. For instance, on the subject of bureaucratic b.s., here's Nutter's courageous proposal to deal with the City's number one fiscal challenge, the massively growing pension fund shortfall, and growing City employee health care costs:
"But regardless of the techniques adopted, and all should be subject to consideration and debate, I
promise to convene a fair and open process to decide how to save our pension and health benefits.
Within my first year in office, I will establish a commission representing current and retired
municipal employees, pension and budget experts from the public and private sectors, and citizen
and civic organizations. This commission will be charged with identifying a reform of pensions and
benefits that will ensure their long-term viability and the provision of ongoing local public services in the rest of the budget, and present that reform for City Council and Mayoral approval.
There you go. Nothing to worry about in having to account for increased pension costs. Nutter will take good care of that problem by FORMING A COMMISSION. And then, after A YEAR, MAKING A PROPOSAL.
Glass houses, indeed.
How much will the Opportunity Agenda cost?
You forgot to list that. And the rest of the Fattah budget.
I'm especially interested in the part where every public school kid in grades 6 through 12 gets a free laptop. Name the brand please, if the price seems surprisingly low.
Then there are the 18 unfunded initiatives in the Housing Proposal. And the extra accountants to deal with a new business tax that may have as many different tax rates as there are businesses in the city.
I'm sorry. You didn't REALLY equate convening a yearlong summit of experts to deal with the city's single most debilitating fiscal crisis (what most people would call a GOOD IDEA, and that wouldn't cost a lot of money to boot) with the accumulated bureaucratic proposals of Fattah's sticker-less war on poverty, did you?
Because that would be irresponsible. Like attacking one candidate's math when your own candidate provides NO MATH AT ALL.
Proudly supporting the BEAUTIFUL Philly For Change Council Slate and MICHAEL NUTTER for Mayor
Is no math worse than made up math?
I don't think so. You know, the math that justifies reducing taxes on the theory that 2-1=3. That's Nutter's math you know. And you're the one who brought up glass houses. So while condemning bureaucratic messes of other candidates, I'd think you would be sure your candidate doesn't promise exactly the same kind of buck-passing you condemn in other candidates, in resolving his issues. And I didn't know that just because a problem is big, like the pension/health care funding crisis, that it then becomes OK to use bureaucratic devices to solve them. Let me see, would you say that a poverty level of 25% in this City, one that's been growing for decades, might qualify as such a problem? Would you agree if it's worthwhile taking a year to solve the gaping hole of pensions and health care, which hole WILL ONLY GROW BIGGER while it's being studied, it might be OK to study solutions to that little poverty problem? If so, you've got a major glass house problem, my friend.
Math you need to know
Yearlong experts' summit to solve pension crisis = $ we can afford
Fattah's Opportunity Agenda = $ we cannot afford (even if we lease CHICAGO'S airport)
Yearlong experts' summit = possible solution to difficult problem
Fattah's Opportunity Agenda = inadequate solution to difficult problem, or:
Fattah's 1st Education Priority = Hire new midlevel bureaucrats
Nutter's 1st Education Priority = Reduce class size
I'm sorry. How much did you say Fattah's promised laptops would cost? You're not admitting he's promising more than he can deliver are you?
Or are you?
Proudly supporting the BEAUTIFUL Philly For Change Council Slate and MICHAEL NUTTER for Mayor
Well as soon as you said the holy words "Philadelphia Inquirer"
you had me. If the Inquirer is for the taxcutter over the poverty solver, it's time for me to recognize the error of my ways. As to Nutter's agenda and it's "affordability" after giving away the store to big biz, please, you jest. You've earned more stones with that one. Just be sure to cover up all that glass in your house.
Your numbers just don't come up on my computer screen
How much did you say the laptops would cost?
***
Nutter's proposals, itemized with Income/Expenditures:
http://www.nutter2007.com/index.php?/issues/full/an_honest_budget_now/
Fattah's proposals, itemized with Income/Expenditures:
????
Proudly supporting the BEAUTIFUL Philly For Change Council Slate and MICHAEL NUTTER for Mayor
How long do you want to go on with this?
You prefer phony numbers to no numbers, I prefer the opposite. Understood.
Only until May 15
My candidate, as it turns out, is in this until the end.
Fattah supporters, like you, refuse to say why Fattah refuses to reveal how much his proposals would cost. So you get to do something that Fattah--despite all his real, good intentions--is doing...insult the voters.
To promise something you obviously can't deliver is, in the end, an insult.
Fattah is incapable of saying how much his proposals would cost because he's promised too much. Once he started proposing more than he could deliver, spending-wise, he went from the absurd to the ridiculous. I know he can't pay for all those laptops. You know it too. It's just that I admit it, and you don't.
I like Fattah. I empathize with a man who wants to do more than a municipal government can do to fight poverty. I really do.
I just don't want a man with a financial plan that is so indefensible that he DOESN'T EVEN TRY to defend it running the city.
Your hate for Nutter's plan stems from the fact that you think all business tax cuts are morally repugnant and incapable of attracting even one business (face it: ALL your economic predictions are based on an assumption of 0% growth in the taxbase). Ok. That's what you think.
You're aware that many other people who study city budgets disagree with you. You're aware that most of the mayoral candidates disagree with you.
But you assume they are all part of a pro-business cabal, intent on robbing the poor to give to the rich. Ok, that's what you think.
So you attack Nutter's plan, knowing some experts support its numbers.
You refuse to defend Fattah's plan. Because NO ONE even tries to defend its numbers. That's why he never supplies them.
I'll keep this going because this desperate city can no longer live on pretty words and good intentions.
Stop Knox. Vote Nutter.
Proudly supporting the BEAUTIFUL Philly For Change Council Slate and MICHAEL NUTTER for Mayor
Laptop Costs....
Actually, while I personally agree with most of what you are saying, the laptop idea is not a bad one and would not necessarily cost as much as you are thinking. In the last few years there have been a few bold attempts to make laptops that are affordable to even children in the third world
Now, I don't necessarily think that we'd need to go for "windup" laptops, but my point is that the costs associated with this type of project might be a lot lower than you think. When you add in the fact that the laptops are (I believe) wirelessly enabled, and that the city still plans on making Philly wireless, you're looking at the potential for a pretty significant savings on the infrastructure side (wiring classrooms is EXPENSIVE!) if the city does decide to try and bring some/many of its schools out of the dark ages (maybe we can spend the money of getting libraries back in our schools?).
Anyway, I still don't think that Fattah's plans are realistic, but lets not throw Stan out with the bath water to prove it.
I work for Damon K. Roberts in his run for City Council. Unless otherwise stated this and every comment by myself is the opinion of myself, and not of Damon or any other candidate, organization, committee, etc.
Being someone that works in
Being someone that works in IT, I can easily tell you that the cost of a $100 laptop is not $100.
How many kids do we have? That is a LOT of support needs to keep them running, not to mention the additional costs of managed spyware/anti-virus/website blocking technology.
Plus I believe "lojacking" the laptops was mentioned, which is additional cost.
Also, I am concerned about the health implications, just eyesite for example. When you have something to read, let alone something difficult you need to concentrate on, a computer screen causes a lot more eye strain. Books are a lot easier on the eyes.