http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/18/business/18local.html

The New York Times is now pondering a bleak picture for good times in New York City---they are coming to an end.


That established, let's assume a financial services meltdown on Wall Street. All these hundred-thousand-aires who are poised to lose CT/NJ houses and New York apartments will be looking around for jobs fairly soon. Most will leave the city and join other firms within town if they can find the work. Some will start peering online from Manhattan and looking at cheaper places to work and to live.


And here we sit... a short ride away.


As a "WHAT-IF?" thread... what do you think we could do here in Philadelphia where we could capture some momentum from this downturn and use it to our advantage?

- Kill BPT? Ok, what do we do after we kill BPT?

- Who do you think the City and the Chamber could woo from NYC to relocate here, where workers cost less and square footage is cheap to rent?

- Do you think Congress should help AMTRAK cut its fees down so monthlies are easier to get?

- Are we doing what we can to keep entities such as the Philadelphia Stock Exchange from leaving? Does anyone intend to leave?

- Now that crime is trending downwards here... a good sign... if it trends down more, do you think people will notice that we are already improving?

- What about the ACC tower that's been proposed?

- How can we convince businesses that have commuters commuting from far away places to relocate to the City, and use public transit to save on costs and promote the environment?

- What should we do during the downturn in the economy so Philadelphia is best-positioned to come out better than had we done nothing and hide under a rock?

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WHYY pays their CEO $750,000 a year. So WHYY should I renew my membership? Seems they have no problems finding money and spending it unwisely.


And this is why you should donate to PACCA, not PETA:

In September, PETA made headlines in Vermont and across the nation for asking Ben & Jerry's ice cream to use human breast milk in their ice cream, instead of cow milk

Congress is the one that forced Amtrak to raise its fares (not fees) a few years back. Amtrak used to ffer a significant discount for monthlies but this was outlawed by limiting the % discount the carrier was allowed to offer. If Amtrak wanted, they could lower monthly fares by lowering overall ticket prices but who gives away money? I have long thought that the Harrisburg-NY service could work for long haul commuting and revitalization of North Philadelphia. That said, I think there is as much to lose from a serious downturn in NYC as there is to gain.

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

Amen to that brother ... that would increase my 9th street and PB Happy Hour spending by probably at least a hundred bucks a week.

And eldondre I think EastChestnut realizes the existence of a big downside, but in his enthusiastic spirit of a new day a new way he wants to mine the silver linings as much as possible while squeezing the lemons for lemonade before we all hit bottom with the receding tide lowering all ships (but I think we can dredge our way outta that.)

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"All of this will not be finished in the first one hundred days, nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin."

~John F. Kennedy

It would be better for the city if business relocated here due to a better business environment.

Step 1 is get rid of red tape for business registrations and licensing. And, that is at the state level as well.

It might be better to ask how to kill as much business as possible and then see how many things PA and Philly do.