Protect consumers: stop HB 1467

Good editorial today in the Inquirer urging Governor Rendell to veto a HB 1467, a bill that would put homeowners fighting contractors who have done shoddy work at an even greater disadvantage than they are today. The justification for the bill is that it would avoid litigation by giving contractors 2 ½ months repair bad work. But the bill creates procedural barriers that will make it more difficult for homeowners to sue contractors who fail to make the repairs. The editorial follows on an excellent column Jeff Gelles wrote about the bill a few days ago. By the way, if you don’t read Jeff Gelles regularly you should. Not only does he have good personal advice, he regularly takes on political issues from a consumer perspective. He is one of the few reporters willing to take on Comcast, for example, criticizing them for their anti-competitive refusal to allow Direct TV… Continue reading

What we progressives can learn from our own failures: the future of progressive politics in PA, part 3

In the last post in this series I wrote about the limitations of Governor Rendell’s centrist strategy in dealing with a Republican legislature that is tilting very far to the right. Today I want to point to some of the failures of activists in dealing with the same barrier to progressive politics. Let me make clear that this is mostly an exercise in self-criticism. (Yo, David Horowitz, note that suspiciously Maoist turn of phrase.) I am going to write about some of the campaigns on which I have worked and point to three ways in which I think we might have made them, or might now make them, more effective. Continue reading

Alternate Paths to Economic Growth

Last week there was another go round about the Business Privilege Tax (BPT) at a City Council hearing at which I testified on behalf of One Philadelphia. Most of the people who testified had done so before. They, and the council members who were there, seemed to know each other’s lines so well that they could repeat them in their sleep. But it has taken me a while to get my head around the various issues concerning taxation and it was my first time attending this particular circus. I thought it might be enlightening. After all, as the ad goes, if you haven’t seen it before, it is new to you. Unfortunately, it wasn’t really new to me or terribly enlightening. The problem with these hearings about the BPT, and with the whole debate about taxes in the city, is that it is terribly one dimensional. Taxes after all are… Continue reading

Help protect tenants

We tend to think of Philadelphia as a city of homeowners, but there are hundreds of thousands of renters as well. To protect them City Council recently enacted the Certificate of Rental Suitability Bill (#060010). It would improve the lives of tenants in this city, especially those who are poor. Unfortunately, Mayor Street may veto this bill. Continue reading

What progressives can learn from Governor Rendell’s failures: the future of progressive politics in PA, part 2

Governor Rendell went to Harrisburg hoping to follow his path to success in Philadelphia. As Mayor of this left of center city with its strong labor unions, Rendell governed from the center. He took on the municipal unions, forcing them to make significant concessions. He cut taxes. He used city funds and tax breaks to create the public facilities and to encourage the private initiative that spurred development, mostly in center city. He was neither a rightist who minimized the role of government nor a leftist who attempted to use government to pursue social justice. Continue reading

Success and failure in Harrisburg: the future of progressive politics in PA, part 1

The Future of Progressive Politics in Pennsylvania, Part 1 This has been a good week for progressives in the state. Governor Rendell has announced that he will veto HB 1318, a bill that would have been most aptly named the Voter Suppression Act of 2006. I was very proud to work with wonderful Protect Our Vote Coalition in opposing the bill and was pleased that Neighborhood Networks officially joined the coalition as well. Jeanine Miller in Philadelphia and Celeste Taylor in Pittsburgh did a great job leading the coalition and Larry Frankel of the ACLU in Harrisburg was immensely important to our efforts as he tracked every twist and turn of the legislative process and gave us strategic advice about what to do at each moment. Any victory by the left is a good one and stopping this awful bill is an important accomplishment. However, before we get too pleased… Continue reading

The first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.

When was the last time a Vice President shot a man? First correct answer gets a free, lifetime subscription to Marc Stier at Large. Thanks to Karl Marx for the title. In the 18th Brumaire of Louis Napolean he writes “Hegel says that history repeats itself. He forgot to add the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.” And no, David Horowitz, knowing this quotation does not make me a Marxist. PS Does anyone know what a Brumaire is? 7 Responses to “The first time as tragedy, the second time as farce” acm Says: February 16th, 2006 at 11:25 am e hint: it involved a duel, not a hunt… Matthew Flaschen Says: February 16th, 2006 at 7:53 pm e Alexander Hamilton shot rival Aaron Burr in a duel. Matthew Flaschen Says: February 16th, 2006 at 9:05 pm e Err, other way around. TRAY Says: February 16th, 2006 at… Continue reading

How to Keep the Promise of Gentrification

This post is a follow up to the previous one, The Potential and Danger of Gentrification How do we realize the promise of gentrification by not displacing people in growing neighborhoods? There are a number of prescriptions. Here is a tentative list of ideas that seem plausible to me. Continue reading

I have seen the future of progressive politics in Philadelphia and her name is Cherelle Parker

I have seen the future of progressive politics in Philadelphia and her name is Cherelle Parker Cherelle won a special election for State Representative in the 200th district in September. Come see her tonight (Thursday, February 9) at her reelection campaign kick-off at 7:00 pm at Lakey’s Restaurant, 8215 Stenton Ave, Philadelphia, PA. Continue reading