Philadelphia Turnaround, how can we further it?

[Shizzles]

The future lies in changing Philly's economic climate. Once that occurs, you'll see better days ahead. Also, I've been noticing that Much of West/South/River Wards are slowly beginning to improve. Unforutnetly, the Lower NE is ready to take a severe dive, so I don't think the popualtion statistics are going to show a major change either way.

[Boeing]

What's better days ahead for someone who lives in the badlands? - I don't see things improving here for a long time.

[loose cannon]

Nutter is paying more attention to the urban areas, but more drastic measures need to be taken. The extreme libs of Philly brought this on themselves. I wonder what Michael Savage would think of Philadelphia? A trip through Kensington and a visit to a Chinese restaurant would be enough show material for a month.

[niceguy19125]

Philadelphia's residents need to overcome their complacency. This is quite possibly the least citizen active city in the US. Complacency breeds familiarity and mediocrity, which Philly has in spades.

[PJG26]

Originally Posted by reztrop

Philadelphia's one party politics needs to change. One party rule breeds complacency and ineptitude. This is especially true in Philly. The city needs a Republican mayor for a change.

The number of violent crimes per capita in Philly is much higher than NYC even though NYC has far more people. Philly has a problem with how its police enforce the law. Enforcement is inconsistent and lax. It doesn't matter how many gun laws you pass. If the police don't enforce the law consistently, offenders will keep on committing crimes.

Philly is a dirty city. The nice areas are really nice, and the bad areas are really bad. Take a walk in Chinatown and you will see how dirty it is. The same goes for North Philly and parts of Center City. Recently I've seen a lot of those BigBelly recycling bins on sidewalks throughout the city for plastic bottles and papers. That's a good improvement in Philly's recycling efforts.

Eliminate the business privilege tax on gross income. Businesses simply do not find Philly an attractive place to do business. Not only does Philly lack a well educated workforce to attract businesses, the city taxes companies who do business here with a gross income tax and a net income tax.

Also we need to curb the spread of casinos in the city. Casinos cheapen the city. Can you imagine a world class city like Chicago or NYC building slot parlors near Michigan Avenue or Fifth Avenue? Building a slots parlor close to Independence Hall and its historic center doesn't sound appealing to me. Instead of trying to revitalize the Galleria with a slots parlor, the Galleria should be torn down and be replaced with a mixed-use complex. A large cinema complex adjoined by upscale restaurants and retail would be better than creating a slots parlor. LA's The Grove is a good example. The tourists who visit Philly's historic center will then have an incentive to shop and dine in close proximity.

Philly's waterfront would have a lot of potential if we can tear down the section of I-95 that runs through it.

NOOOOOOOO. Better idea. Similar to Boston's Big Dig. We should follow that example.

Two other things- get rid of BPT or lower it and JOBS other than education and medical. Our base in other areas is horrendous. For example in Accounting, only the Big 4 can afford to operate here. Most firms have to go out to the suburbs or leave the area altogether. There are educated people, but we're competing for table scaps and might have to leave the city because of the lack of jobs.