Why is Philly not well liked by the rest of PA if at all

[JoeP]

If you ask me, the western part of Pennsylvania north/west of the Blue Mountain (first ridge in the Alleghenies) and west of the Susquehanna River can be given to West Virginia.

No, YOU take West Virginia and you take whatever else with you, Pittsburgh is part of PA.

[CHIP72]

Originally Posted by JoeP

No, YOU take West Virginia and you take whatever else with you, Pittsburgh is part of PA.

Pittsburgh is the capital of Appalachia (or at least the northern half of Appalachia), much like Boston is the capital of New England.

[Unstable]

Originally Posted by solibs

The 5 counties of SE PA are just shy of 3.8 million people.

Take away Philly ($207b/43%) , Pittsburgh ($102b/21%) and the Lehigh Valley ($23b/5%) and you're left with 42% of the population producing 31% of the wealth and most likely a much smaller share of state revenue. People making more money and spending more money mean higher income taxes, more sales tax revenue, more money from real estate transfer taxes, more corporate tax revenue, etc. etc.

We don't get all of the state's money. We get some of our own money back. The rest of it goes to subsidize Appalachia. Do you think for a second that there would be anything resembling a highway outside of the top 5 or 6 metros in the state if it weren't for the gas taxes paid in those top 5 or 6 metros? Your schools, your social services?

You want to complain about $1 billion for SEPTA? That's less than one half of one percent of what we contribute to the state economy. Keep reaching.

Can anyone come up with numbers for this? I've seen graphs of federal taxes vs federal spending by state, but I'd like to see actual hard numbers for state taxes vs state spending by county.

Without numbers, this debate is basically: "You take our money!" "Nu-uh, YOU take OUR money!" My instinct is that cities are engines of economic growth and state money probably flows out of SEPA rather than into it, but I have no evidence for this.

[JoeP]

Pittsburgh is the capital of Appalachia (or at least the northern half of Appalachia), much like Boston is the capital of New England.

Pittsburgh does not have any real connection to areas of Appalachia outside or the former industrial areas relatively nearby and regardless that is irrelevant to being a part of PA or not. Topography just doesn't do it by itself.

If some part of the state wants to leave, then so be it, but Pittsburgh is part of PA and Allegheny county alone is a major tax base for the state. It would be great if some portion of the state left so that Pittsburgh actually received more in taxes than it gives.

[BevoInPA]

I read this whole thread. The comparison based on economic output is completely innacurate. Harrisburg is the capital of the state and thus administering funds for Philadelphia. Philadelphia would have to assume all of these "non-productive" activities would have to move in-house. I think the PHEA is in Luzerne County, same thing.

Someone else commented on population growth. Check your facts. The only fast growing county in the Philly metro is Chester. Pike and Monroe top the list. South Central PA accounts for most of the rest (York/Lancaster/Harrisburg/Gettysburg).

[rainrock]

Originally Posted by BevoInPA

I read this whole thread. The comparison based on economic output is completely innacurate. Harrisburg is the capital of the state and thus administering funds for Philadelphia. Philadelphia would have to assume all of these "non-productive" activities would have to move in-house. I think the PHEA is in Luzerne County, same thing.

Someone else commented on population growth. Check your facts. The only fast growing county in the Philly metro is Chester. Pike and Monroe top the list. South Central PA accounts for most of the rest (York/Lancaster/Harrisburg/Gettysburg).

You have to put things into perspective. Chester at 12% Montgomery + Bucks growing at 4%= 120,000 new residents. Pike and Monroe growing at 20%=38,000.

[edrican]

Is the Northeast Section of Philly livable for a young family?