Marc's blog
I WANT THE BEST SERVICE: How to save hundreds of lives with a swish of a pen
Submitted by Marc on Tue, 05/01/2007 - 15:01.If you are shot, where would you rather be -- New York City or Philadelphia? If you want to stay alive, the unfortunate answer is New York City.
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The BPT, Once More With Feeling Or Why Progressives Should Hate the BPT
Submitted by Marc on Fri, 04/27/2007 - 15:11.
I've been meaning to write in detail about the BPT for some time. Unfortunately, what I want to say is a little complicated. But, given that we have been discussing it here for a while, it seems like a good idea to to broaden the debate about the BPT a bit and examine whether, from a progressive point of view, it is a tax we should be defending. My view is that it is not.
But, before I get to that, however, let me make four preliminary points about the BPT and economic development and explain why I would not vote to reduce the BPT except as part of a package of economic development programs and tax reforms.
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A Funny Happened at a Tax Reform Forum
Submitted by Marc on Fri, 04/27/2007 - 12:48.A funny thing happened in a public forum a few months ago or how to reach a consensus about tax reform.
How to have your neighborhoods, and your casinos, too
Submitted by Marc on Mon, 03/19/2007 - 12:54.It’s time to find a creative solution to the logjam over casinos at the waterfront. Both the charter change referendum to keep casinos 1500 from residential neighborhoods and a series of lawsuits will keep casinos from the waterfront for yours.
That is good for our neighborhoods. But the casino interests are not going to give up easily and if we can find the right sites, casinos could help our economy if only be creating a large number of construction jobs.
The place to put the casinos is near the airport.
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The Great U-Turn
Submitted by Marc on Wed, 03/07/2007 - 15:06. Ever turned onto a highway only to find yourself driving the wrong way? The road goes on for miles without a turn, taking you further and further away from the right path. Suddenly, up ahead, there’s a u-turn – your chance to finally head back in the right direction.
This is what the May primaries will be. The leadership in our City government has been heading in the wrong direction. And up ahead, is the possibility of a u-turn and the chance to get back on course!
We deserve better: A Council Ethics Agenda Beyond the Committee of Seventy Proposal
Submitted by Marc on Mon, 02/19/2007 - 16:08.If I could do anything for Philadelphia, that would be it – make us believe we deserve better, and give us hope that we can attain it.
The campaign finance reform is one more story of our broken politics – at several levels. I was part of the effort to defeat the “take-a-step-backwards” campaign finance bill that Councilman Kenny introduced....
This Year, Politics In Philadelphia Is Going To Be Different
Submitted by Marc on Wed, 02/14/2007 - 18:55.Something really extraordinary happened in Philadelphia politics in the last two weeks. A usually respected Councilman introduced legislation that would have, for all practical purposes, eliminated contribution limits in the Mayoral election. The bills had sponsorship from a majority of Council members and almost every member of Council was ready to vote for it.
And yet, after an outcry from progressive leaders, editorial page writers, and challengers to the incumbents from all over the city, the bill was withdrawn today. This is a major victory for the progressive movement in the city. And it is evidence of something I have been seeing out on the streets for the last three months.
And yet, after an outcry from progressive leaders, editorial page writers, and challengers to the incumbents from all over the city, the bill was withdrawn today. This is a major victory for the progressive movement in the city. And it is evidence of something I have been seeing out on the streets for the last three months.
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The Politics of Fear and the Costs of Corruption
Submitted by Marc on Mon, 02/12/2007 - 10:33.How great are the costs of corruption in Philadelphia? I once got into a debate with a friend at Young Philly Politics about this. My friend argued that corruption really doesn’t cost us a great deal. My view, contained in this revised version of my response to him, is that there are all kinds of corruption in the city. Some of them just cost us money, although I suspect the amount is much larger than my friend realizes. Other kinds of corruption systematically undermine the way the city operates. The cost of that corruption is very serious.
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Hope and Fear and Casinos.
Submitted by Marc on Mon, 02/12/2007 - 10:30.For long enough we’ve been told the casinos are coming. We have heard this long enough that it should have taken hold. It hasn’t, despite the politics of fear in our city that encourage us to acquiesce to our continually the broken politics.
However, anti-casino advocates have picked up an idea I suggested a few weeks ago, to put a legally-binding question on the ballot: do you believe slots casinos should be in Philly’s neighborhoods? Getting the 20,000 valid signatures we need to get this proposition on the May ballot can block the casinos and help us keep building a politics of hope. That effort is ending on Tuesday, February 13 so there is still is a little time for you to gather some signatures.
The New Campaign Finance Bill Is A Fig Leaf
Submitted by Marc on Thu, 02/08/2007 - 19:32.Last week I strongly criticized a bill to eliminate campaign contributions limits. Instead I proposed a compromise that would lift campaign contribution limits gradually if a candidate for Mayor increased his contributions to his own campaign.
A new bill was introduced today. Unfortunately it is a fig leaf that doesn't cover the obscenity of the initial one.
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