As the Inquirer reports today, John Street is releasing his proposed budget in an afternoon address. This year, unlike the last few, the City is running a small surplus. So, Mayor Street plans to do what anyone would do in his situation: screw the working poor. What am I talking about?

This:

Mayor Street today will propose major new spending for cultural institutions and riverfront development, and push to rescind planned tax cuts for the poor that had been the pet project of City Councilman David Cohen, according to drafts of the mayor's five-year spending plan and fiscal 2007 budget obtained by The Inquirer.

The proposals will be part of Street's budget address this morning before City Council - the first such speech since Cohen's death in October at age 90. In 2004, Cohen fought fiercely for the targeted wage-tax cuts, which slash the amount of wage tax due from people who make below the statewide threshold for low-income tax forgiveness - roughly $32,000 for a family of four. The bill ultimately became law over Street's veto.

The cuts are not scheduled to begin until 2010, but Street's five-year plan calls their $46.8 million cost inconsistent with other key goals.

Basically, the biggest thing that David Cohen got passed in his last years was to make the City's wage tax more progressive, by ending it for low-income families. Now that Cohen has passed away, Mayor Street, who used to represent some of the poorest parts of Philadelphia while in City Council, is taking back that tax cut. He is making sure the Philly wage tax stays regressive as ever. Hey, no one is there to protect the interests of those who rarely speak up, so why not stick it to them. Right, Mayor Street?