The mayor's latest revenue initiative is as light on clear thinking and common sense as it is silent on the accountability against the very people who caused it: Arlene Ackerman and Michael Masch. Conceptually, my solution is as simple as it is fair. Collect all outstanding receivables from people and corporations who are delinquent – more than $450M all told. But these prevaricating liberals don’t see it that way. They would rather resort to fear tactics by saying that the schools won’t be able to open unless more than $90M of additional revenue is realized in less than 5 months. Philadelphia already has more revenue streams than even most countries: a property tax, sales tax, wage tax and real estate transfer tax. Enough! For many years, the city government has a spending problem. If left unchecked, the financial fabric of Philadelphia will become marred beyond redress as it already has in much of Europe. If tax assessments are adjusted under the mayor’s proposal, many property owners will see their real estate taxes more than double. That’s not fair to honest hard-working folks, especially in time of economic recession.
I pay my taxes and I expect my neighbors to do the same. More than this, I expect the city to live within its means. The people need to wise up and demand to be treated fairly. The financial imperative of our time demands nothing less.