Author: Marc Stier

No comments

Hearing on the housing trust fund

  By Housing, Philadelphia

Council Hearings are being held today (Wednesday, June 7)) and tomorrow (Thursday, June 8 ) on three ordinances related to the Housing Trust Fund, which remains in danger. Here is some information on the hearing, the ordinances that will be considered, and my view of those ordinances. I urge you to contact your council members and all the at-large council members to express your views on these bill. You can find phone, fax and email contact information for Council members on my website. Or you can use the Hallwatch Faxbank Service to send a fax to all council members who represent you. Continue reading

No comments

The "debate" over housing reorganization

  By Housing

 The “debate” over the reorganization of the city’s three agencies that deal with housing is showing Philadelphia politics at its worst. A struggle over housing agencies is taking place right now. Yet we know very little about the details of the plan the Mayor will propose. And thus there has been no serious discussion of the benefits and costs of that plan or alternatives to it. Councilwoman Blackwell has been fighting the plan but not by offering her own perspective on how our housing agencies should be organized. Instead she has been using the budget to hold the Housing Trust Fund and other housing dollars hostage. Continue reading

No comments

Housing trust fund shenanigans, continued

  By Housing, Philadelphia

As I previously reported, the budget passed by Council a week and a half ago included an amendment, sponsored by Jannie Blackwell, that transferred Housing Trust Fund money from one line item to another, thereby blocking expenditures of Housing Trust Funds on the creation of affordable housing in the next Fiscal Year. Early last week, Councilman Darrell Clarke introduced a transfer amendment that would move the money back. After a meeting of the advisory committee on the Trust Fund, Councilwoman Blackwell promised to vote for the transfer amendment. And then new threats to the fund arose. Continue reading

No comments

What we lost today and why

  By Philadelphia, Social Justice, Taxation

Today Council voted 11 to 4 to delay the Cohen Working Families Wage Tax Rebate for three years. It was supposed to start in 2010 and is no delayed until 2013. Since the program ramps up gradually, final implementation will be in 2018. Keynes said that, in the long run we are all dead. Certainly by the time we get to 2018, many of the working poor and middle class people alive today who could benefit from a reduction in their wage taxes will be dead. Whether the Tax Rebate program will ever go into effect is now an open question. Unless we build the political will and find the politicians to support the wage tax rebate, it is not unlikely that every there is a budget shortfall our politicians may well decide to turn to put off the wage tax rebate again. After the vote, some Council members suggested… Continue reading

No comments

A talk with Brett Mandel, part 2

  By Health Care

After talking about the uniformity clause and the wage tax, our discussion turned to real estate taxes and the possibility, now denied by the uniformity clause, of taxing commerical property at higher rathes than residential property. Continue reading

No comments

Against slots

  By Casinos, Economic Development, Health Care, Philadelphia

 I  was at the rally against Casino’s today and have to say I was impressed by how well it was organized and conducted. It was at the same spot where the first transit rally was held a few years ago. Not that long after the first transit rally we brought 4000 people from across the state. Given what I saw today, the anti-casino rally in Harrisburg will easily exceed 4000. This movement has been a long time coming. But as I will explain in this and some future posts, I am glad it is here. Continue reading

No comments

A talk with Brett Mandel, part 1

  By Philadelphia, Taxation

Because of his effective proselytization on behalf of the job-killing business privilege tax—a name he invented—Brett Mandel of Philadelphia Forward is not the most well liked person in progressive circles. I myself have disagreed with him about the BPT, at least in part. (This is a subject for another time but, in brief, my view is that the BPT is an awful tax from a progressive point of view and should be eliminated. But we have to replace the revenues we get from the BPT with an alternative unless and until eliminating it–and taking other steps to revive the Philadelphia economy–brings in the revenues we need to provide essential city services.) But Brett is both a friend of mine and a progressive on practically all issues as well as being a impressive thinker and activist. He is also a Neighborhood Networks member and co-leader in our Center City group. Recently… Continue reading

No comments

Update on the working families wage tax rebate

  By Philadelphia, Social Justice

Hearings on the 3 year delay of the David Cohen Working Families Wage Tax Program will be held tomorrow morning at 9:00 am in Council Chambers. In the last few days a loose coalition has put together what looks like a compelling reason not to delay the implementation of the program. Continue reading

No comments

Don't balance the budget on the poor

  By Economic Development, Philadelphia, Progressive Politics, Social Justice

 The latest budget deal between Mayor Street and City Council leaders calls on Council to enact an ordinance delaying implementation of the Working Families Wage Tax Rebate for two years. This rebate was the last major proposal introduced by the late Councilman David Cohen. Continue reading

No comments

Housing trust fund shenanigans

  By Housing, Philadelphia

 A Jannie Blackwell amendment was added to the Fiscal Year 2007 budget which had its first reading last Thursday. The amendment transfers all of the Housing Trust Fund dollars from the “Purchase of Services” (class 200) account to the “Personal Services” (class 100) account. The transfer means that the $9.8 million in the Housing Trust Fund will not be available for the creation or rehabilitation of affordable housing or for homelessness prevention. This amendment is, in multiples sense, an abuse of trust. Continue reading