I moved to Kensington from Media and brought with me both my city wage tax(I work from home) and brought the city ~$13k in RE transfer taxes.

I think you're going to see a lot of people in the same scenario moving to CC in the next 10 years.

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"Let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people." - B.H. Obama

"Power does what it wants." - George Carlin

I really don't get this argument. The infrastructure is already there to support 2 million residents. It may be aging, but it's still a whole lot cheaper than creating new infrastructure from scratch. So you either make use of what you have and maintain it or have massive abandonment, which you seem to be advocating. If you look at where things stand right now, we have about 25% of the population living at or below poverty. Those people require services that their tax money can't support. So you either raise taxes on the rest of the dwindling middle-class population (like what happened in the 70s) or you attract more new people (and jobs) to re-build the tax base and gradually lower taxes....i.e. hopefully our current path.

That surplus the city has been enjoying the last couple years was fueled primarily by the real estate transfer tax. That's new people right there. Once we start seeing the abatements expire, that'll be another revenue bump for the city. Another bonus (if you can call it that) is that many of the new residents aren't sending their kids to schools either because they're boomers, in their 20s or well off enough to send their kids to private schools.

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"What's up Pops!" - Lebron James to Bush 41.

Let's not kid ourselves. Philadelphia is not San Francisco or New York or even Dallas when it comes to quality jobs. These jobs at the casinos will offer a serious upgrade in terms of quality of employment for a lot of people in this city, and we shouldn't be shunning these jobs.

Is this a total tangent? I recall reading a debate about casino jobs upthread.

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NUTTER 2007

Clearly Philly has been really anaemic on the jobs front for decades, very much to our detriment. Manhattan is amazing to a Philadelphian, in no small part due to its stunning jobs base. That said, I think that we are in a new paradigm now where quality of work experience and quality of life drive the location of new jobs; that is, jobs follow people more so than vice versa (which is still cogent, just not as much so). Everything we have been doing for the past decade and a half has set us up to be the place to be in this state and even beyond. We have been fixing the tax rates and more importantly fixing the QOL problems, and I think the jobs are following. I hope we never get to the level of San Fran, which brings its own problems, but I would like to be much healthier than we are now.

sim city is a game and success is defined by your use of the drivers the creators assigned to it.

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"You down wit OPM?"
Fumo: "Yeah, you know me!"

They better hurry. The job market inside city limits sucks.

Re: city tax revenue & sources:

http://www.philadelphiaforward.org/node/725

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I want to know why are you so gung-ho on casinos being the salvation to the economical and financial woes of Philadelphia. Have you actually researched to know that?
From what I've read it is not, from what researches have studied and found it is not....Is AC some kind of a great example to you? Or is it bc you like to playing cards, come one now

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Is official am off the market. Am engaged to Dave

they're most def'ly not the salvation.
but right now, this second, what else is there?

it's a short term solution, but it's better than nothing. right?

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My restlessness is my nemesis.

Another thing people don't realize is that if you put those two big casino/entertainment complexes on the river, it keeps all the annoying Jersey people there instead of in Old City, South St, Northern Liberties. Each of them would have 3 clubs within 5 years. See....everyone wins

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"Let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people." - B.H. Obama

"Power does what it wants." - George Carlin

lewblum I hear what you are saying. I am more optimistic for more businesses and jobs to be created here than what ever "handout" or quick fix to me this seems to be. Let's not short change Philly!

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Is official am off the market. Am engaged to Dave