It's Our City is a project that uses TV, Radio and Web
to promote civic engagement in the Philadelphia region.Assess the “New Day, New Way” one year in
Wednesday, January 7th, 2009 at 12:06 am - by Dan Pohlig. Filed under: Uncategorized.
It was exactly 1 year ago today, on January 7, 2008, that Michael Nutter was sworn in as the 98th Mayor of Philadelphia. I, video camera in hand, was among the crowd who took in the ceremony at the Academy of Music as part of my last official report for The Next Mayor project - the partnership of WHYY, the Daily News and the Committee of Seventy to cover the issues, not the personalities of the mayor’s race. For many, there was a sense that the right guy had won the job, not that his opponents were terrible choices, but that they each had strong positions in their current roles that would continue to benefit the city.
The city was buzzing with optimism, hope and the promise of, as Nutter himself put it, “A New Day, A New Way.” In fact, even old rivals were among the well wishers (heck, Al Taubenberger was at the Inaugural Ball at the Cruise Ship Terminal that evening).
After enjoying early strong support - both financially and vocally - from the a coalition of liberals, arts aficionados, progressives, urbanists, intellectuals, good government types, “new” Philadelphians and reform advocates, Nutter was able to peel off voters from other candidates as it became clear that their guy would most likely not win. In classic Philadelphia fashion, a savvy electorate practiced their strategic voting, choosing not the guy who they were with at the beginning but the guy most likely to beat their least favorite choice. So in the end, Nutter won a solid plurality of the vote from a diverse coalition of town home and row home, black and white, progressive and traditional, wealthy and low income, and from every neighborhood in the city. He may not have won every ward, but he was a close second in almost every ward he lost.
What was thin, possibly begruding, support by strategic voters in May was soon turned into the overwhelming good will, popularity and cheer of January when the Mayor welcomed thousands to City Hall and well wishers shouted “you the man, Mike” from passing cars as he walked by. You would have thought the guy was conquering hero from classic Greek literature, freshly back from bringing honor and glory for the polis.
And in the beginning, it seemed to be going along well. Eschewing the big, high-profile, short term project that other first-year mayors had done to build up their political capital, Nutter preferred instead to ride the honeymoon and use the expectations that he had raised throughout the summer and fall of ‘07 to put the pieces in place for much longer term goals. So instead of delivering 100,000 abandoned cars or cleaning the toilets in City Hall as a symbol for taking on entrenched interests, Nutter laid out a strategic vision that emphasize 6 core service areas.
He brought in “rock stars” of the public policy world. He created positions to make the city government a player in the arts and culture community, to guide its efforts towards sustainability, to increase public safety and health, and to bring authority to planning and economic development. Nutter’s first budget promised funding increases for education, the arts, the parks and ethics.
Yes. All seemed well. Heck, even his relationship with City Council seemed strong.
It’s exactly one year later and, to pluck this oft-used cherry from the serious economists and financial experts who have gotten everything so wrong since last spring, “no one could have predicted” that the city would feel the way it does about the Nutter administration one year after the swearing-in. Despite several new policies (weekly, citywide, single stream recycling comes to mind) and follow through on his commitment to issues like the arts, zoning and ethics, the events of recent months have dominated perception of the administration. As the Daily News’ Dave Davies - a longtime and very well-connected political observer - put it in his own year-end assessment of the mayor:
But as the year turns and the economy continues to sour, and as libraries prepare to close the doors, opinions about Nutter are turning, too.
Community leaders and progressive Democrats who once praised Nutter now criticize him as cold-hearted, out of touch and secretive rather than transparent.
Businesspeople and leaders of nonprofit organizations grumble that his administration is dysfunctional and rudderless.
Davies goes on to offer some advice for the mayor on where he can go from here.
The It’s Our City project is looking for your assessment of Mayor Nutter’s first year in office and advice for his next year in office. We’re especially curious to know where you fall on that Nutter supporter spectrum - early and strong supporter, late comer who has never been a fervent supporter, never were a supporter and still not, or some other variation. Once you identify where you were a year ago today, let us know where you are now. Tell us what you consider to be the administration’s best accomplishments (for reference, you can take a look at what the administration considers to be its own best accomplishments) and its worst failures. Are you still on board or are you having buyer’s remorse and wishing that one of the other candidates had won?
What should Mayor Nutter do to make sure that on January 7, 2010, he’s having a much better “new day” than he is right now, no matter what the national economy is doing?
For reference, here are some other assessments and bits of advice from various media outlets and community activists (click on links to read the pieces in their entirety):
Editor of Philadelphia Business Journal Bernard Dagenais:
Even organizations that are facing direct cuts hesitate to criticize the popular mayor. But Nutter’s popularity should not mean he gets a pass. He contributed to his current situation. Though matters got worse, he knew full well he was walking into a fiscal mess.
Publisher of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, Brian Tierney:
I don’t think a mayor has gone into office at a more challenging time than right now. The economy is in the tank, tax and fee revenues are in the same condition, and the needs for services have never been greater. The mayor is a bright and deeply committed public official motivated by all the right impulses. He has assembled an overall strong team.
Yet, something doesn’t seem to be working. The team seems to lack focus; it is difficult for us to understand its priorities; decisions take too long.
Several luminaries provide advice specifically on the fiscal situation.
The Daily News assesses the records of Nutter’s Top 5 political appointees.
Nutter sits for a year-in-review interview with Catherine Lucey of the Daily News and also outlines his goals for 2009. (Interestingly, one commenter on the interview article offered this: “The most telling thing was when Nutter couldn’t name an accomplishment in his first year. Nothing… AND I STILL THINK HE WAS THE BEST CHOICE LAST YEAR!”)
Former candidate for City Council and frequent Young Philly Politics contributor Marc Stier with advice for “activists”:
Many of us have had discussions, mostly in private, in which we have speculated about the answer to this question. Those speculations have focused mostly on personalities—of the Mayor, of his top advisors—and on circumstances—the tensions of making difficult decisions in a hurry.
But the truth of the matter is, I believe, far deeper. The actions of the Nutter administration are, in fact, par for the course in our political culture. We are only surprised because we expected something different from this administration.
January 7th, 2009 at 10:39 am
Mayor Nutter is doing fine and he’s taking action, which is exactly what he said he would do. There is always a painful transition for a community as they move away from talking about change and actually start to experience it. Mayor Nutter is not closing libraries or fire houses because he hates them or because he wants to deprive Philadelphians. He’s making these cuts because they make sense for our current population. He’s facing some huge challenges with the state of the economy and the state of a city that has seen too much corruption and biased government.
January 7th, 2009 at 10:51 am
@Avery: Were you an early supporter or did you start supporting Nutter after initially backing another candidate? I take it from your comment that you were an early and strong supporter and continue to be so. Thanks for the comment!
January 7th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
I was a big Nutter supporter from the get-go, and I’ve held on to hope that his reasoned and thoughtful approach to governance will prevail through this mess.
I disagree strongly with his administration’s handling of the library situation. I tried so hard to not jump to the default position (closing libraries = bad) and hear the Mayor’s office out. They had a good point that we’ve got a library system for a city of 2 million, but only 1.5 million residents. That coupled with the internet and the impending rise of digital readers, and yes, spending money on rooms full of books may not make the most rational sense.
But politics isn’t a rational art form. The projected $32 million 5-year saving doesn’t seem worth the emotional toll on the city, when looming large, as Tom Ferrick pointed on this blog, is that “city contributions to its pension fund over the next five years total: $2.1 billion. That’s “b” as in boy billion.”
That added to the fact that Mayor Nutter promised that the library buildings themselves would remain there for community-use, with computer labs and other city services … well, hell, why don’t we cut our losses, stop the trauma, and reform our idea of libraries? E-libraries, or iLibraries or “StreamLinedbraries” or something? The idea of “closing” just adds insult to injury in tough economic times.
I know in many ways at the municipal level Nutter’s hands are tied, but I would hope he would listen to the Krugmans of the world, the Keynesians, and realize that cutting services and maintaining a bad tax code during an economic downturn is the wrong way to go. There has to be a creative way to streamline some things without the deep cuts that will exacerbate the problem and add to the emotional strife.
Plus, what good will a huge federal stimulus package do if it’s incrementally undone at the state and municipal level? It is indeed a new day in Philly, but I remain unconvinced that Nutter’s come up with a new way to handle the problems at hand. I hope in the new year, he keeps his ears open to all the year-end reflection and is smarter about how/where cuts are made so that his administration doesn’t lose public support and the opportunity for effectual change.
January 8th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Today is my last day at WRT (authors of the Delaware Waterfront master plan, The plan for Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and the original urban design concept for Liberty Place) I have been a strong supporter of Mayor Nutter because he supports good long range planning. He has made excellent appointments and has had to make difficult choices. We must realize that we are not a city of 2 million which our last comprehensive plan in 1962 projected. We need new, more realistic targets. We are well prepared for federal assistance in infrastructure improvements and have one of the lowest vacancy rates in Center City office in the country.
I am willing to help the Mayor build and implement his vision.
January 8th, 2009 at 8:12 pm
The glow we’ve all had from our beloved Phillies winning the World Series must be dimming because now we can get back to doing what Philadelphians do and complain.
Having been an early supporter of Mayor Nutter and his vision for Philadelphia, I continue to support him. Though I was disappointed with the library debacle, he admitted that he and his staff could have definitely handled it differently. Difficult decisions will undoubtedly need to be made over and over again in his tenure. As he heads into contract negotiations with the police and fire departments, whose issues will clearly be health benefits and pension funding, I am reminded of the recent movie starring Daniel Day Lewis, “There Will Be Blood.” While the administration hasn’t won any rave reviews for its first year, it has only been one year. (This is Philadelphia, after all, and we haven’t trashed Andy Reid yet). I’m still hopeful that the optimism and vision that the Mayor expressed during his campaign and in his first 100 days will carry him and our citizenry through the darker days ahead.
More difficult decisions will need to be made, as our new president-elect knows as well, but by communicating and letting people know what’s really happening, and what the real issues are, I do hope we can all work together for a better city. Because, God knows, the Phillies are not going to win EVERY World Series championship during his tenure.
January 8th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Sorry…I do think Mayor Nutter means well…and his heart is in the right place…
But…
But…
Mayor Nutter…touts himself as being the “education mayor” and says he wants to boost graduation rates in the city schools…
You know, the same city schools that are only graduating 50 percent of its students…
When Mayor Nutter is pressed on the outrages and abuses that occur in the Philly schools…
he is quick to say…well, the Philly School District is a separate entity and I have no control over the Philly School District…
BS…
And, that isn’t “Bachelor of Science…”
Mayor Nutter is full of little red ants…
He can’t have it both ways…don’t tout yourself as the education mayor…and then deny any contact or influence with this most corrupt institution…
What a phony…
January 8th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
I was an early supporter of Mayor Nutter, and I think he was off to an excellent start, until Bush-whacked by the nation’s economic collapse.
On one matter, however, the Mayor has deeply disappointed me. He opposed the siting of slots parlors within 1,500 feet of residences, schools, playgrounds, and churches. But now he has totally flip-flopped. He advocates a new site for Foxwoods at Market Street East, check-to-jowl with Chinatown and Washington Square, near neighbor to churches and schools and homes in what his administration apparently intends to exploit as a Casino Corridor. This has a very bad smell to it.
January 8th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
Michael Nutter is not a phony - that’s one of the reasons why I and many other civic leaders supported him.
He proved to many people that he “got” what change could mean for Philadelphia, that he “understood” what it means to live in a neighborhood and that he wanted to lead the city towards a 21st Century vision where decisions were made because of facts and community input not by insiders and politics.
One year later, the record is mixed - as others have said and the media has documented. Yes, we are still confident that when the Mayor opens his mouth, the words he chooses convey meaning, intention and genuine appreciation of the possibilities for change as well as dire situation we all face. It is good that he is the one talking to soon to be President Obama, we all need Washington’s help.
No, we are not convinced that the Mayor and his team have learned to share the burden of governing effectively. Decisions are made - but no one knows how and what information makes it into the room. Despite the appointment of good people, the same interests are at the table and very new voices are being heard - except to oppose his decision to close libraries and to site a Casino in Center City.
We need his next three years to look different from his first. Instead of organizing his own community forums he might try attending some neighborhood meetings that go on every month. Instead of thinking he has all to have all the answers, he might ask us the hard questions. Instead of having to defend decisions made behind closed doors - he might try inviting more community leaders into the room and let more people share the burden of tough choices.
I think Philadelphia will survive this crisis and maybe even thrive if we reject the old way of doing things and adopt more efficient and sustainable approaches for both energy and politics. I believed Michael Nutter wanted that to be his legacy when he ran for Mayor and I’m still hopeful he can pull it off - he just needs to ask for and get the help it will take from all of us to succeed.
January 9th, 2009 at 9:01 am
I was and still am proud that I was an early and strong supporter of Mayor Nutter. He brought to City Hall the right energy, ideals and drive for change.
Mayor Nutter has not done everything right in his first year in office (who has?) but he has made several significant improvements - single stream recycling once a week, 311, a new improved planning process, etc. These bold improvements are exactly what people in this City were seeking.
Unfortunately, the economy turned sour faster than any of us could have predicted. Mayor Nutter suddenly did not have the resources he needed to make the City a better place to live, work and enjoy. If he had, many of the recent criticisms of him would not have been said. Imagine if Mayor Nutter had all of the financial resources that were available to the City in the 1990’s. His approval ratings today may be higher than 90%!
During the next couple years, Mayor Nutter needs to dig deeper for bold, creative ideas that are revenue neutral. These ideas are not as easy to find but they are available.
Selling (at a profit) most or all City owned properties would be a good start. They have been held by City Departments way too long for no apparent good reason. Let the private sector do what the City cannot - develop vacant buildings and lots into a new tax base that serve our neighborhoods.
Open up the Recreation Department to the community so it can garner more of the resources that it needs. Allow civic and business leaders to adopt individual recreation centers instead of turning support away. Even in this economy, there are people that want to help. Acknowledge that Recreation Department staff and City resources cannot do it all.
So far, Mayor Nutter has done a good job spreading the pain in response to the budget crisis. I will end up paying more in business taxes and fees and I am OK with that. I am not happy about it but I know that we all need to make sacrifices until the economy returns to good health.
Let Mayor Nutter be Mayor Nutter. We elected him because he promised to be bold and creative. Mayor Nutter promised to blow up L&I and rethink all City Departments. When do the bombs drop?
January 9th, 2009 at 9:38 am
I am still a strong supporter of Mayor Nutter, but I am disappointed at the difficult decisions he has had to make. I am optimistic that he has the intelligence and the competent staff to lead the city through this difficult time.
January 9th, 2009 at 10:19 am
I too was a strong supporter of Mayor Nutter…..
I thought we elected a reformer/change candidate that was so needed in Philadelphia.
Promises made on the campaign trail were left on the trail…..I believe to make a promise no matter how small, to the voter and the change it will bring to their life can be huge. When you do not keep that promise, what is the voters incentive to believe you will keep larger promices? He said he would make sure brooms and shovels would be put back on the trash trucks so the men/women could pick up the trash that falls off the trash trucks.
Amongst other platforms issues this promise sealed my vote…..To date every Monday evening when I arrive home from work, I must pull out the trash can and sweep up the trash that has fallen off the trash trucks…Small promise..big change to a voter…..When is the next election?
January 9th, 2009 at 11:13 am
Let me first say that although I almost never vote for any democrat candidate (including Mayor Nutter) I did WANT to believe that he was going to be different. I was looking for a refreshing and MUCH NEEDED change for Philadelphia politics. Now a year later, I sadly feel disappointed once again. Although only being one year into his mayoral term, I am struggling to think about what it is EXACTLY that Mayor Nutter has accomplished.
I am strongly devoted to and involved in my local civic organization and I would be remiss if I didn’t thank Mayor Nutter for meeting face to face with our organization and allowing us the opportunity to voice our concerns about the future of our neighborhood. I thought that his presence was profoundly positive and the overall meeting went better than anyone could have expected. However, I still feel like there is a “cloud” over the mayor’s office. We still have yet to have a mayor who will have the strength and character we as Philadelphians need to completely change the face of Philadelphia politics for the better. Unfortunately, it is not just the Mayor himself who needs a “character check”. I believe that city council, as well as our local state representatives, congressmen and women, and senators need to be held accountable. If you want to call anyone out of touch and draining on this city, please include all the elected officals in control of our fate responsible.
I hope that citizens of this wonderful city will continue to reach out to these career politicians, many of whom do not even live here, by way of letters or phone calls or faxes, and let them know what you think about what they are doing. For example, it is beyond any reasoning to think that Mayor Nutter asked for funding from the federal government’s bailout (your and my tax dollars) to expand the Philadelphia Zoo when we are facing closure of our fire stations and local libraries. WE HAVE NO SAY….Unless each and every citizen gets involved in any way you can.
I pray daily for Mayor Nutter and his family. I hope that he will truly do what is best for this city and his neighbors. Although no one likes to face closures and budget/program cuts, if he could simply prioritize better and not be afraid to stand up for what is right…..I’m sure he’d not only find support from the residents but also find he is respected by his collegues.
January 9th, 2009 at 11:34 am
I was there at the Convention center in dec 08 when the Nutter screamed his slogan like he was so different.Now that he is in office,He fails to defend the status quo of the Street yrs. against crime.Street was committed to overtime for patrol officers in high crime areas and eventually drove down the 1 murder a year we averaged on the 3200 square block area of rorer on 1 side and D street in the back. We are in front of a school and you think drug dealing and murder wouldn’t prosper.During the Rendell years there was no commitment to break the crime culture their. Street had them on the run and now Mayor Nutter with no overtime for patrol in High crime areas will raise the white flag. In fact Nutter will be a magician that will turm the Northeast with this policy into Camden for while the 2nd and 15 are gallant.There aren’t enough to harass drug corners that will grow in this economy,Nutter is looking like Custer at the battle of Big Horn. Are these challenges to tough for Nutter to fight or will he make the tough choices too. Right now he looks like a reincarnation of CenterCity Sam and I as a republican supported Street for the good of this city. There might be some complaints,But Street deliverred for the Northeast and Kensington.
January 9th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
No one foresaw the economic disaster that is upon us. While I would prefer to be where we were a year ago the reality of today is quite different. If we see Mayor Nutter as changed by these circumstances let’s not forget we’ve changed, too. Do we really think that the Mayor has stopped caring about education? Or safe streets? Or quality of life in the neighborhoods?
Did anyone even notice that somehow crime went down in 2008? What was that, luck of the draw? Or, maybe, just maybe some folks in City Hall are doing their best to keep us afloat in what is a rising tide of red ink.
By some estimates we will have to cut spending/raise taxes to cover a $1.5 BILLION shortfall over the next five years. Sorry, this isn’t time to complain because our local library is closed. Yeah, it stinks. But we as a City have to start making some sacrifices. Where I live (in South Philadelphia) means an 8 block walk from the closed facility to one that remains open. My heavens, listening to the hew and cry you’d think the Mayor was leaving our children out in the cold instead of asking they walk a few blocks.
We are in a crisis. We can sit here and complain that the Mayor should have done some things different. He gets that, and has agreed to factor in our concerns as he looks at what other adjustments he needs to make in City services. But don’t lose sight of the fact that it’s his job to act. Accept that and move on. Making City Council pay for their cars WILL NOT raise $1.5 billion in the next few years. We have to make some sacrifices, giving up some things we REALLY care about so that we can start to get control of the City Budget. Then, with help from Washington and, hopefully, some improvement in the economy we can start to move forward. But if we act like this is somehow the Mayor’s fault then all we do is exacerbate the problem and delay the solution. C’mon, Philadelphia: stand up, blow your nose and start to act like adults who want to solve a problem rather than find someone to blame.
January 9th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
While I did not initially support Mr. Nutter during the early primary season, I was quite pleased by the end of it that he was the one to win the primary and thus would win the general election.
I’m with those that have said that no one knew the economic situation in this country was going to become so dire so quickly. I do think the Mayor could have done a much better job in planning the cuts he proposed. Perhaps they were the best ones to propose, but the process left a lot to be desired by we the taxpayers.
I am curious why we are closing pools and libraries and not looking at cutting the size of government, though. As has been pointed out by many over the last few months, we are a smaller city than we used to be, but we have more employees than ever. Why is that? And why is this not being taken into consideration? Eliminating positions not only eliminates payroll, it also eliminates payroll taxes, benefits, and pension contributions. That can add up quickly.
And yes, I do think it makes sense to for City Council, and all city employees, to pay for their own cars. There aren’t very many other jobs in the commercial sector that provide cars. While this won’t close the budget gap all by itself, it will help, and perhaps it will keep a couple of pools open this summer. For as much as we complain about SEPTA, we really do have a good public transportation system here, and our city employees should use it, not only for commuting but also for official business.
When a business is faced with a budget that is not in balance, it first cuts within; it doesn’t first ask its customers to do with less. I believe that’s what the city should be doing first.
January 9th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Nutter went back on his word to keep casinos 1500 ft from communities. That is an insult to the people that voted for him. Secondly, why do we have polluting buses everywhere (and there will be more with a casino and massive traffic jams that will destroy air quality for residents and our historic buildings a few blocks away.) The recent articles on what air pollution from cars, trucks and buses does to us makes you wonder how quickly do they want to kill us. Exhaust pollution causes inflamation inside ou bodies that clogs our veins and brings heart attacks. Be a responsible mayor and get the polluting buses off the streets and keep the slimy sleazy casinos away from us. We all know the casinos will cost us dearly in addiction, divorces, child neglect, crime, court appointed criminal lawyers, judges, courts etc - there are plenty of verified stats available on both of these issues.
WE DON’T WANT A CASINO DISTRICT IN OUR BEAUTIFUL, HISTORICAL CENTER CITY!
January 10th, 2009 at 10:08 am
I think the mayor is doing as well as he can under very difficult circumstances ie the fiscal situation and the fact that the city has lost 25% of its population and no one wants to reduce services. It is a no-win situation for Mayor Nutter and I hope that the situation turns around in the not too distant future.
January 10th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
If Mayor Nutter had done absolutely nothing else, even in the best of economic times, his early ethics-related appointments sent a critical and absolutely necessary signal of his intentions to change Philadelphia’s culture of government corruption. We are fortunate for these appointments of Inspector General, Amy Kurland, the Chief Integrity Officer Joan Markman, and Nutter’s appointment to the Ethics Board, Kenya Mann. Now, in the worst of economic times, let’s remember the really important stuff that Philly needs and Nutter brings.
January 11th, 2009 at 11:37 am
I was a strong supporter of Mayor Nutter and continue to believe he is working hard on behalf of the City. I think his strongest suit has been ethics reform, as was reinforced yesterday at the hearings of the Ethics Reform Commission.
My impression is that he understands the need to downsize government, so he began with very popular programs, which the citizens would not tolerate losing, in the hope that they will be picked up by private industry.
But on the matter of zoning, despite his pledges,I see the same scenario of spot zoning by City Council to suit the desires of the particular councilperson sponsoring it and being supported by his administration.
And, regarding casinos, I think he has decided that Foxwoods will go the the Gallery. Period, end of evaluation. It’s hard to disregard the numbers Rendell is touting about how great they are for us in view of the economic meltdown. Unfortunately, what Philadelphia represents to the world as a show-case as the birthplace of democracy will end with a whimper, not a bang and we won’t be able to point to what hit us and the fact that casinos are what degraded our economy and society to the point where what we had is gone.
January 11th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
I have attended several of the so-called “Great Expectations” forums. I always made the argument that the name of this forum was absurd. I also consistently argued that the standard of living will continue to deteriorate for working people and the economy will move towards depression. When I said these things people couldn’t believe what I was saying. Well, here we are and everything I have said is comming to pass.
One fact we need to consider is that today derivatives are valued at $531 trillion. We might ask: What is a derivative? Because of the financial collapse, derivatives are now worthless pieces of paper. Yet, literally all ivestments are tied into this huge pot of worthless paper. Understanding this fact means that as long as the capitalist system expists, there will be no long term financial recovery.
Another fact we need to look at is that the most affluent one percent of the population owns about half of all financial wealth while the least affluent 80% owns no more than six percent. Understanding this one fact alone demonstrates how the resources have existed for quite some time to eliminate poverty.
Enterprises such as banking, insurance companies, and advertising agencies add no value to the goods and services we all need and want. Yet we need to pay for all these services with literally everything we purchase.
The federal government has given $700 billion to the banks and hundreds of billions more are on the way to corporations. Understanding the above facts we can say clearly that the lyon’s share of this money will go the the most affluent people in the world.
Here in Philadelphia the city government has literally thrown hundreds of millions of dollars at the wealthy in the form of tax abatements, money for sports stadiums and convention centers, and in interest payments on municipal bonds. Yet, working people in the city have experienced cutbacks in most city services over the past thirty years. Today Mayor Nutter has decided to crank up the cut-back machine in City Hall, while continuing to use City Hall as a cash machine for the affluent.
Understanding these facts I do not believe that Mayor Nutter is a failure. A failure is someone who makes an attempt to accomplish a goal and is unable to do so. Mayor Nutter, like all those mayors before him, make it their top priorty to champion the interests of the affluent at the expense of the vast majority of the population. In other words, he is actively working against the interterests of working people and has absolutely no intention of changing.
I have supported the politics of the Socialist Workers Party for the past tirty-six years. We have a different way of dealing with this so-called economic crisis.
1) We can cut the hours people work with absolutely no cut in pay. This will open up millions of jobs for unemployed workers.
2) Employers need to be required to give automatic pay increases when there are price increases. Working people, who produce all wealth, should not be required to have our standard of living deteriorate so the affluent can become even more wealthy.
3) We need to have a public works progams that will hire thousands of workers at union scale wages to rebuild the infrastructure in this region.
4) We need to give immigrant workers full rights in this country. These workers do the most difficult and demanding jobs for the lowest wages simply because they were born in another country. Giving these workers full rights will benefit all workers.
5) Everyone must have the guaranteed right to a lifetime of completely free health care and education.
6) All troops of the armed forces from this country stationed overseas needs to come home immediately.
7) The least affluent 80% of the population should not be paying any taxes at all. The lyon’s share of all taxes needs to be paid by people who have more money than they could possibly use in 100 lifetimes.
Clealy Mayor Nutter and the rest of the government do not support these demands. They would rather continue throwing billions at the affluent while initiating massive cutbacks on working people.
Well, the times they are a changing.
January 11th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
Mayor Nutter’s greatest accomplishment, from my perspective, was his request from the federal government for some of the revitalization money to come to the cities and urban areas. His second was pushing for that trash cleanup day last spring.
If Philadelphia gets the revitalization money, Nutter’s priority should be to continue the Neighborhood Transformation Initiative that Mayor Street started. Say what you want about Street, but he did try to clean up the neighborhoods and start redevelopment of new homes, as well as Citizens Bank Park and the Linc. (When the Phillies won the World Series, I didn’t see him invited to the parade. Perhaps he will be if the Eagles win the Super Bowl.)
Why should continued neighborhood redevelopment be Nutter’s priority?
1. The design of most old Philly rowhomes is obsolete. Most prospering families today want two-and-a-half baths, a large kitchen and a family room. These are reasons why so many people moved to suburban homes. It’s not just urban flight, it’s the type of housing the suburbs offer.
2. Better housing will attract and help the city keep young, educated, employed homeowners. This in turn will lead to more retail businesses, manufacturers and other employers choosing to locate in the city - where the infrastructure they need already exists.
3. As part of the neighborhood initiative, the city should tear down abandoned buildings and create land banks to entice builders, with extra incentives for hiring and training city youth in need of jobs. It also should create incentives for home-improvement stores to locate in poorer neighborhoods and hold workshops so new immigrants and people who have never owned a home can get training in how to maintain one. As small-time real estate investors, my husband and I cannot believe how many shells there are in the city and how many fixer-uppers we have entered where lead-based paint was peeling and mattresses were on the floor. In the Inquirer before Christmas, one little child asked Santa Claus for a bedframe! Children raised in dilapidated, chaotic homes have a hard time learning and are drawn to criminal behavior. Improving Philadelphia’s housing stock will, in turn, improve the schools and reduce crime. This, not a casino district, should be the mayor’s top priority.
January 13th, 2009 at 10:09 am
Yes, I am a supporter of Mayor Nutter and I am glad we elected him. He said this morning on 91 FM that the real deficit will be announced later this week, but it is probably in the $1.5 billion dollar range. As others have noted, the cuts that will be announced are undermining his campaign promises and destroying the social safety net of the city.
We are $10 trillion dollars in debt as a nation thanks to the fiscal irresponsibility of the Bush Administration. China and Japan, our largest lenders are about to pull back funding our massive deficit which means that we will have to raise interest rates and despite Obama’s promises, not expect too much from the feds or states. Obama may promise a trillion dollar economic stimulus package, but it is going no where unless China or Japan lend us the money.
And we are about to pay the piper. We, as a nation, are in serious trouble. All of this will slam into Philly with the thud of a sledgehammer. The unions will wish they signed a four year contract last year, because we are actually going to move backwards into a time of deflation and lower salaries. Our pensions are woefully underfunded and health benefits will cost over $370 million dollars for Philly.
There is little hope unless we change our economic model as a nation. Number one on the list is that we can no longer tolerate an inefficient, ineffective and wasteful health care financing system that leaves 160,000 Philadelphians uninsured and many more underinsured. It is a major reason why our city is unable to finance libraries, schools, etc. because huge amounts go to pay health insurance premiums and retiree health benefits. The only way out is with a true universal health care system, like single payer funded by either the state or federal government. If the state single payer bill, HB 1660 and SB 300 passed in Pennsylvania, it would cost Philly 10% of payroll which would save the city hundreds of millions of dollars and go a long way to reducing the deficit.
Mayor Nutter should immediately tell his lobbyists to support the Family and Business Health Security Act in Pennsylvania (www.healthcare4allpa.org) and HR 676, the US National Health Care Act (www.healthcare-now.org) which will be reintroduced by Rep. John Conyers, Jr. Radical times require radical solutions. This is a solution which take the health care burden off Philadelphia, give all Philadelphians what they need, namely comprehensive health benefits, and leave no one behind. It is way overdue.
Without real single payer health reform, we will never have the funds to support city services and we will sink as a city, as a state and as a nation and never get out of the hole we are in.
January 21st, 2009 at 1:02 pm
My support for Michael Nutter as Mayor began when I first met him 7 years ago. He seemed to be the kind of bright and honest person we needed to head the City.
As with the President, so the Mayor cannot “do it alone” — he needs effective appointees running city departments, he needs citizen support - and he needs legislators (City Council members) who have vision and who can balance the needs of the city as a whole with the specific issues in their districts. The Mayor can control the appointees, but he cannot control the political process. Citizens must take control of that — witness the “revolution” in Democratic politics on the national level.
I have been disappointed in the Mayor’s failure to be transparent about the budget-cutting decisions. I do NOT think citizens need to be directly consulted on matters like this. I cannot imagine a scenario in which the populace would be able to make a decision, say, between libraries or fire houses — or even among libraries. That’ why we elect people to represent us. But citizens need to understand and accept decisions, more likely when they understand the process by which decisions are made: who was consulted, what the major considerations were, what alternatives were examined, and the context which led to the ultimate decisions. Careful communication helps as well, including possible changes in approach that might mitigate negative effects (like rethinking what a library is or where services are best deployed).
As the director of a human services non-profit, I am extremely worried about our ability to serve the most needy among us, whose numbers are growing as resources are shrinking. I have long felt that the City needs an effective process whereby agencies with whom it contracts come together to help design best practices in service delivery and the tools by which to evaluate outcomes. Holding people accountable is always important, most especially at a time of shrinking resources. But fair accountability requires a full understanding of the challenges faced by providers in the field, which can only come from two-way communication. Changes imposed without proper consultation may save money, but can also threaten the quality of services.
Finally, City departments that contract out services should be able to do so without political interference. Their decisions should be based solely on proven expertise and an ability to deliver as promised. The Mayor should use his bully pulpit to create the atmosphere in which these collaborative efforts could happen.
February 11th, 2009 at 10:18 am
[...] Taubenberger, the Burholme resident and former Republican mayoral challenger and Northeast Chamber of Commerce president, was asked by city hall reporters what he would do if [...]