Category: Public Policy

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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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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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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

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We deserve better: a reform agenda beyond the committee of seventy proposal

  By Campaign Finance Reform, Philadelphia, Progressive Politics

Bob Moses was an important leader in SNCC, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which played a major role in the latter half of the Civil Rights movement.  I had the great privilege of meeting him when I was in College. When he organized in deep Mississippi he said the first thing to do was to teach people that they deserve better then what they have. He understood that thinking you deserve more, gives people a reason to fight for what’s right. 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. Recent debates on Philadelphia  campaign finance laws are one more story of our broken politics – at several levels.  We deserve better than the bill proposed by Councilman Kenny, which proposed huge increases in the caps on campaign contributions.  We need to… Continue reading

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Hope, fear and casinos

  By Casinos, Philadelphia

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. Now, 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. So what’s the deal? Continue reading

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Against repealing contribution limits

  By Campaign Finance Reform, My 2007 Campaign

I oppose any legislation that would have the effect of eliminating campaign contribution limits in the current Mayoral race. The goal of campaign finance reform is to preserve our democracy. Democracy is undermined when money becomes so important in politics that those who contribute to campaigns play a dramatically greater role in determining who holds office—and thus what our office holders do—than our citizens. So I am concerned about both limiting the influence of those who contribute to the campaigns of others and those who contribute to their own campaigns. In order to attain both goals, I proposed last week a compromise that would lift campaign contribution limits gradually if a candidate for Mayor increased his contributions to his own campaign. Rather than being a serious compromise, the new bill goes so far in lifting contribution limits as to make them meaningless. It is a fig leaf that doesn’t cover… Continue reading

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A Possible Compromise? / Let's Be Fair to Jim Kenney

  By Campaign Finance Reform, My 2007 Campaign, Philadelphia, Progressive Politics, Ward politics

I have more reason than most people to want Jim Kenney put in a bad light, as I’m running for a position he holds, Council at Large. And I strongly disagree with the legislation he proposed, to eliminate all spending limitations in the Mayoral election when one candidate spends a large amount from his own resources. But I think we ought to be fair to Councilman Kenney in two respects. Continue reading