What can I do to fix Pittsburgh's problems? (business, selling)

[guylocke]

I was just explaining how mass transit is funded here.

Ah ok, I gotcha.

[guylocke]

That just means it's a shell game. The money that should have been spent maintaining I-80 without tolls will then be sent to Philly and Pittsburgh. Any way you slice it, the end result is the same.

A whole corridor that could have attracted businesses will now become less desirable thanks to the tolls.

Oh for pity's sake, I'm done arguing about this. Whether you like it or not, it's pretty much a done deal. So write to your congressmen if you want, I'm done talking about it. LOL.

[suzeeq521]

I wouldn't count on it being a done deal.

There is precendent of the trucking industry taking the state to court over constitutional violations (interference with interstate commerce.)

Just because it is signed into law here doesn't mean the law will stand.

[rosekatherine]

Pittsburgh needs a website for businesses wanting to come here and a program that shows the company chiefs and their employees the benefits of moving here, the cost savings, etc. It's good enough for Google, it should be fabulous for everyone. Great people, great taxes and real estate costs (compared to other big cities). Get a program where interested CEO's ect. come here, stay free, eat free are escorted around the city and surrounding areas and shown business and residential areas. Then send them to a show or event. How to pay for it? Get the restaurants to give free meals, events venues to give free tickets, hotels to give free rooms, and you know the real estate people would be happy to participate. Matter of fact, they might pay for all, not only good advertisement but they reap many benefits too!

[kpoeppel]

Great taxes? Not really. PA has the highest corporate net income tax in the nation, which keeps businesses away. Property taxes in Allegheny Co. are high, and the city of Pittsburgh has a 3% wage tax. You can bet that taxes in Pittsburgh will be going up, since the city is two billion dollars in debt, and has a huge pension liability.

I do agree that real estate prices are the big benifit to the area. The massive real-estate bubble/ponzi scheme didn't hit Pittsburgh, thankfully.

[guylocke]

You can bet that taxes in Pittsburgh will be going up, since the city is two billion dollars in debt, and has a huge pension liability.

Taxes will not be going up in Pittsburgh, in fact, tax breaks were just handed out for city-dwellers who want to buy property. Ed Rendell won't allow a raise in taxes, that's why the whole I-80 controversy even exists. He won't raise taxes in Pittsburgh or Philadelphia so he's trying to figure out alternative means to support the cities.

He is also doing things about the corporate taxes, which are way too high.

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by kpoeppel

Great taxes? Not really. PA has the highest corporate net income tax in the nation, which keeps businesses away. Property taxes in Allegheny Co. are high, and the city of Pittsburgh has a 3% wage tax. You can bet that taxes in Pittsburgh will be going up, since the city is two billion dollars in debt, and has a huge pension liability.

I do agree that real estate prices are the big benifit to the area. The massive real-estate bubble/ponzi scheme didn't hit Pittsburgh, thankfully.

K, I've seen you complain about taxes a lot on here... but truthfully, what are the alternatives? It takes money to run a city, and fund the basic services we expect a city to give us....

I'm not being snarky -- other than taxes what can a city to do?

I live in Oakalnd CA and our fair city gave tax breaks to several companies, that came in, took avantage of them and then left when the breaks were about to expire... one of which was a SuperKMart. Although in that case the shoplifting alone put them out of business here...

What can a city do to attract new business, new residents and new income to support them?

[guylocke]

K, I've seen you complain about taxes a lot on here... but truthfully, what are the alternatives? It takes money to run a city, and fund the basic services we expect a city to give us....

You're gonna pay money to live in the city-limits of any large city. Do you have any idea what taxes are in NYC? LOL. Or Los Angeles? Or <insert city here> Pittsburgh's 3% wage tax (which is actually a combination of wage and school)that you cry about non-stop is far from abnormal. Granted, we do have high property tax, too, but that is also something that is being worked on by PA government.
It is impossible to go to any large city and not expect to pay some absurd tax. Many cities have personal income tax on luxury goods. Many cities tax food and clothing. Many cities have over 7% sales tax. I mean, truthfully, moving from one big city to another is just a rearrangement of taxes. That's why taxes alone can actually be one the worse things to base a move on.

It costs a ton of money to run a big city, and taxes will always be higher in the county in which that city resides. In Seattle, people thwart me from King county incessantly because the neighboring counties are so much cheaper (just like Pittsburgh).

I don't want to live in the neighboring counties, I want to live in downtown Seattle, and yes, I'll be taxed for doing so, but too bad, I get over it.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by boylocke

I don't want to live in the neighboring counties, I want to live in downtown Seattle, and yes, I'll be taxed for doing so, but too bad, I get over it.

...in a romantic penthouse condo with a balcony overlooking the Puget Sound and Space Needle (sigh!) I agree with you though. As I ponder moving to Boston I'm going to move into the city proper; why the hell would I want to live on a suburban cul-de-sac with the same generic pre-fabricated tract-housing and box-stores that I could find in any other suburb? I want to live in the soul of a city to feel its heart beat.

[guylocke]

As I ponder moving to Boston I'm going to move into the city proper

Now that's an expensive city. And cold!! But super fun.

I want to live in the soul of a city to feel its heart beat.

Exactly!