Author: Marc Stier

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I want the best service: How to save hundreds of lives by fixing emergency service

  By Health Care, My 2007 Campaign, Philadelphia

I wrote this with Daniel Hunter during my campaign for City Council in 2007. If you are shot——or have a heart attack—where would you rather be, New York City or Philadelphia?  If you want to stay alive, the unfortunate answer is New York City. Why? New York City has invested resources in emergency medical services. And they don’t hamstringing their paramedics, fire fighters, and police with unreasonable rules. Here’s one example: New York City has far more ambulances per person than Philadelphia. They have so many ambulances, in fact, that they don’t have enough stations for all of them. That’s why you see many parked on street corners waiting for a call. In Philadelphia the situation is the opposite.  We have too few ambulances.  So when police rush onto the scene after someone is shot, they often arrive long before an ambulance.  As a result, they have to put gunshot… Continue reading

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A funny thing happened at a tax reform forum

  By Philadelphia, Taxation

We all know economic growth and job creation are central to making our city a better place to live. Over the last few years, the debate about economic growth has centered on the tax reform issue. That has been unfortunate for two reasons. The first is that, while tax reform may be critical to economic growth, we have not focused enough on other means of creating new businesses and jobs. Second, progress on reforming taxes has been slow because we have focused too much on business taxes and because of sharp disagreements among political activists about whether and how fast the Business Privilege Tax (BPT) should be reduced. But a funny thing happened in a public forum a few months ago on taxes. Brett Mandel of Philadelphia Forward has been a main advocate of gradually eliminating the Business Privilege Tax (BPT) in order to stimulate economic development and job growth… Continue reading

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The BPT: once more with feeling

  By Philadelphia, Taxation

I would like to broaden the debate about the BPT a bit and explain why, from a progressive point of view, it is not a good tax. 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. 1. I do think that reducing business taxes is one way to create more businesses and jobs in Philadelphia. But it is not the only way or the best way. To understand why, you have to grasp that we have two economic development problems in the city. The first has to do with reviving commercial corridors. This is critical to creating jobs for our many citizens who have not attended college. Reducing the net profits part of the BPT will… Continue reading

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Haircuts and contributions and me

  By Elections and Voting, My 2007 Campaign

I read in the Daily News today that John Edwards is paying for haircuts that cost from $225 to $400 out of his campaign contributions, including one haircut from a “a trendy salon and spa in Dubuque, Iowa.” Since I am working hard right now to raise money for the last month of the campaign–and people comment about how I’m actually keeping my hair short during the campaign–I want everyone to know that I get my hair cut at Julius Scissor on Locust Street, as I have for 22 years, and that I pay for those haircuts out of my own pocket, except for one day, when I paid for my haircut, and my campaign manager’s, with the wrong checkbook. I repaid the campaign as soon as I discovered the mistake. If you want to help my campaign, you can do so by contributing on-line at http://www.stier2007.com/contribute. Or you can… Continue reading

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How to have your neighborhoods and casinos, too.

  By Casinos, Philadelphia, Progressive Politics

By Marc Stier and Daniel Hunter It’s time to find a creative solution to the logjam over casinos at the waterfront. The charter change referendum blocking casinos from the Delaware River sites and any other sites within 1500 feet of a residential area is going to pass on May 15. Having led the campaign to restore the city’s zoning control over the casino sites, I am quite certain that the General Assembly will not reverse direction and take that control away from us again. And all those lawyers and public relations people who say that the charter change will be overturned in the courts are just blowing smoke. If there is any justice in Pennsylvania, then the result of the referendum will hold up in court. And, even if justice is lacking, casino opponents have the capacity to use the legal process to block casinos on the water front for… Continue reading

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Yes, Virginia, there is a progressive movement in Philadelphia

  By Philadelphia, Progressive Politics

Reposted from YPP http://youngphillypolitics.com/yes_virginia_there_progressive_movement_philadelphia There have been a couple of interesting threads at YPP recently that discuss what it means to be a progressive in Philadelphia and whether we really have anything worth being called a progressive movement in the city. And there was a great article in the City Paper this week that makes a pretty good case that there is such a movement but also pointed to some of the tensions within it. I’ve been pretty sick with flu-like symptoms all week and today I spent my first day at home since late December. So I have a little time to stop and think and take stock in where we are. I want to, as quickly as possible, discuss four issues: (1) What makes for a progressive movement as far as ideology goes; (2) Whether there are real ideological divisions within the progressive movement today; (3) Is the… Continue reading

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The second time as farce

  By Elections and Voting, My 2007 Campaign

The spate of challenges by progressives to their competitors reminds me of the famous lines of Karl Marx: “Hegel says that history repeats itself. He forgets to add, the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.” If the first time was the establishment’s use of technical challenges to undermine progressives, the second time is the progressives’ use of the same kinds of challenges to undermine their competitors. I certainly understand why candidates working incredibly hard to win an election are inclined to use every means in the book to do so. And I also understand why they are tempted to use the old guard’s tactics against the old guard, especially when so many of us have suffered because of those tactics. But revenge is never a good motive to do anything. All these challenges on the basis of the statement of financial interests are not really in keeping… Continue reading

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The Great U-turn (on casinos and more)

  By Casinos, Philadelphia, Progressive Politics

with Christina Michaels and Daniel Hunter 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. That’s what the May primaries will be about.  Our City government leadership has been heading the wrong direction.  And up ahead, is the possibility of a u-turn and the chance to get back on course. Already in the fight against slots parlors and campaign “un-finance” reform we are seeing some glimmers of the u-turn to come. Continue reading

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Transit action today / Reflections on the State and the City

  By Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

SEPTA is, again, in crisis. The projected deficit for the next fiscal year is well over $100 million dollars. To close that deficit, SEPTA will have to institute both fare increases and service reductions of about 25%. This would be an economic and social disaster for the city and the region. Little is being done in Harrisburg to address the crisis. The Pennsylvania Transit Coalition, on whose steering committee I have sat since its founding, is conducting a leafleting campaign today at 4:00 pm at both Market East and Suburban Stations. We will be targeting suburbanites getting on their trains and will give them leaflets that ask them to call their state Senators and Representatives. I hope a lot of you can take an hour or so and attend this event. If you plan to do so, contact info@patransit.org and we will tell you exactly where in the stations you… Continue reading

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Casinos and Council: my testimony

  By Casinos

There is as old joke heard at political conventions: by the third day everything has been said but not everyone has said it. It is now almost five pm and these hearings began at ten am. So, I’m sure that by now everything has been said but not everyone has said it. So I will be brief. Casinos have been a bad deal for everyone in the city since the beginning. By now you have heard all the reasons that casinos are bad for us: • Gambling is a regressive form of taxation. • Gambling leads to crime and prostitution. • Compulsive gambling undermines families. And casinos are a particularly bad idea on our waterfront: • The casinos will bring all the burdens I just mentioned to strong residential neighborhoods • The casinos will undermine our port, which has the potential for tremendous growth and the addition of thousands of… Continue reading