Philadelphia 2035 (York, Warren, Elizabeth: tuition, rent, homes)

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

To back this up to a degree, I note that the subway concourses have become homeless shelters again.

Yeah, sigh. Totally gone. But back again.

[kyb01]

Ezekiel Emanuel, chair of the Dept. of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at Penn said a few years ago that closing asylums was a mistake. Maybe Sandy(MarketEl) can find the article( NY Times ?) where he said that.

[KansastoSouthphilly]

Originally Posted by jessemh431

The only place for some of these people is an asylum...

I pretty much agree with everything you have said here and you have said it well.

As for the other issues, there is a correct answers. The conservative answer is wrong here. The solution to urban minority poverty and crime is decriminalization of drugs because minority communities are arrested at far higher rates than whites. Entire neighborhoods grow up without parental figures because of the disproportionate arrest/conviction rates of minorities. We also must simultaneously fund our schools better, and not just in the form of dumping money into a school. Spend the money properly. Urban and minority districts often have different issues that suburbanites do not understand. A child whose family can't afford 3 meals per day is not going to have the same mental functions as that of a well-off child who eats 3 meals a day. A parent who works a 9ish - 5ish job spends more time with their children and can be a better parent. Shift employees working at or near minimum wage are not around as much to care for their children. The former receives better education support at home than the latter, and also can be diagnosed much earlier with a learning disability. The latter will need more intervention later in life, but large urban districts very rarely properly fund these types of services. And if they do, it's often too little too late. Universal preschool would do wonders for the country as a whole. Life training skills would benefit all students as well, yet no schools that I know of offer anything like that. In the suburban districts where parents have time to assist their children with basic life tasks like budgeting, cooking, paying bills, job hunting, job training skills, etc., the students are better prepared for the real world and handling real world crises. Heavily minority urban districts are not offering these services, but also the parents are often unavailable to assist.

Throwing money at schools is not the solution. Spending the money on universal preschool, learning disability diagnostics, basic socialization skills, etc. at a young age combined with spending money on drug counselors, life skills coaches, job training for trades, etc. in high schools will go much further.

But again, conservatives refuse to do anything on this plan because it WILL cost money

I too consider myself a progressive, though a cynical one. I wouldn't just decriminalize drugs but legalize them; yes even hard drugs. Fund treatment for those that want it. Destroy the black the market and the crime that accompanies it. Enjoy the extra tax money. Yes some will get addicted and die but that happens now.

I agree that there is a lack of willingness to properly invest in society from the political right. Likewise I see the political left locally wanting to have better funded schools and services but being unwilling to accept any of the trade offs that would make the City better to fund the type of programs you list you above. I see this in the constant griping about the ten year tax abatement, gentrification, and density. I see local progressives as wanting to waive a magic wand to magically have funding for their dream programs but not thinking about the mechanics of how to actually achieve these goals.

Furthermore, while I am in favor of investing in the long term fixes you discuss they don't really address the issue as it exists right now. Even if we implemented everything today it would still take generations to have a major impact. Are we helpless until then?

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by KansastoSouthphilly

I pretty much agree with everything you have said here and you have said it well.



I too consider myself a progressive, though a cynical one. I wouldn't just decriminalize drugs but legalize them; yes even hard drugs. Fund treatment for those that want it. Destroy the black the market and the crime that accompanies it. Enjoy the extra tax money. Yes some will get addicted and die but that happens now.

I agree that there is a lack of willingness to properly invest in society from the political right. Likewise I see the political left locally wanting to have better funded schools and services but being unwilling to accept any of the trade offs that would make the City better to fund the type of programs you list you above. I see this in the constant griping about the ten year tax abatement, gentrification, and density. I see local progressives as wanting to waive a magic wand to magically have funding for their dream programs but not thinking about the mechanics of how to actually achieve these goals.

Furthermore, while I am in favor of investing in the long term fixes you discuss they don't really address the issue as it exists right now. Even if we implemented everything today it would still take generations to have a major impact. Are we helpless until then?

The abatement is very likely to be phased out over the next 10 years. I heard that this morning. I didn't hear enough details to say anything else.

[jessemh431]

Originally Posted by KansastoSouthphilly

I pretty much agree with everything you have said here and you have said it well.



I too consider myself a progressive, though a cynical one. I wouldn't just decriminalize drugs but legalize them; yes even hard drugs. Fund treatment for those that want it. Destroy the black the market and the crime that accompanies it. Enjoy the extra tax money. Yes some will get addicted and die but that happens now.

I agree that there is a lack of willingness to properly invest in society from the political right. Likewise I see the political left locally wanting to have better funded schools and services but being unwilling to accept any of the trade offs that would make the City better to fund the type of programs you list you above. I see this in the constant griping about the ten year tax abatement, gentrification, and density. I see local progressives as wanting to waive a magic wand to magically have funding for their dream programs but not thinking about the mechanics of how to actually achieve these goals.

Furthermore, while I am in favor of investing in the long term fixes you discuss they don't really address the issue as it exists right now. Even if we implemented everything today it would still take generations to have a major impact. Are we helpless until then?

Yes, I agree legalization and sale of drugs would destroy the black market and contribute even further to the betterment of society. The taxes collected from the sale of legal drugs could and should be used only for the treatment of addiction. I believe it's Portugal that legalized all drugs and saw a decline in addiction rates and issues related to addiction. Then, instead of locking the people up, they were forced into rehab. Yes, one can only become sober when they're ready. But I'd rather force them into rehab and get SOME counseling on addiction rather that fall into the criminal "justice" system and receive absolutely no assistance whatsoever. I think forced rehab is a better use of my tax dollars than jail/prison.

I do think we're stuck with this for a few generations. I mean, look at how long it took to get where we're at. The marginalization of minorities in this country has been a pillar of our society since its founding. To undue all of that marginalization will take more than a year or two. I do think the better education would have a more immediate effect within a few years as younger minds are better prepared for their teenage years thanks to a better education system.

And I do think opening asylums again would have a drastic improvement on the homelessness crisis plaguing major cities across the country quite quickly. By finding a place to house all these people long-term, crime would fall because there are less mentally ill people on the streets committing crimes. But there would also be fewer customers for the gangs selling illegal drugs. Eventually, once legalized, they would become somewhat irrelevant, but in the short-term, fewer customers=less power for gangs. With fewer people in the jails/prisons, and fewer people being labeled as criminals, we wouldn't need such large and militant police forces, so we could save taxes on locking people up and overloading the courts. That tax savings could be used to reinvest further into treatment/education/asylums.

None of this is sexy. None of this will have short-term gains. Therefore, politicians, who expect to be politicians for life, will never vote for these ideas because they'll be unpopular short term and they won't b re-elected. So there we run into the conundrum of term limits, which opens up an entirely new can of worms.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by kyb01

The abatement is very likely to be phased out over the next 10 years. I heard that this morning. I didn't hear enough details to say anything else.

Rather, it will be revised so that the tax break for the owner declines gradually over the 10 years.

There's also talk of capping the value of residential property eligible for the abatement.

[KansastoSouthphilly]

Regarding the teens on 15th and Chestnut:

https://6abc.com/teen-violence-on-ch...moved/5713711/


I'm not sure how serious the calls to move the school are but this would be a huge improvement. Maybe the W can try to use some of their influence.

[cpomp]

Originally Posted by KansastoSouthphilly

Regarding the teens on 15th and Chestnut:

https://6abc.com/teen-violence-on-ch...moved/5713711/


I'm not sure how serious the calls to move the school are but this would be a huge improvement. Maybe the W can try to use some of their influence.

I sure hope something is done before the W opens, nothing says world class more than a group of teenagers attacking people and kicking dogs.... Watching that video infuriated me.

[Redddog]

Moving the school would help but it seems like the kids are coming in and pulling that crap when school is out. I know we all talk about this a lot but this kind of stuff will always be a problem until we can teach our children that this type of behavior isn't acceptable.

They feel invincible when they're in a pack - and essentially, they are. Until there are severe consequences and these little criminals are caught and made an example of, it will continue. I don't think I've ever even heard of one of these kids getting caught.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by KansastoSouthphilly

Regarding the teens on 15th and Chestnut:

https://6abc.com/teen-violence-on-ch...moved/5713711/


I'm not sure how serious the calls to move the school are but this would be a huge improvement. Maybe the W can try to use some of their influence.

Can't happen soon enough. What is weird though is there are residences essentially on all four corners. Hopefully people living there are having a huge say in this.