Posted on 01/24/2008 7:39:35 AM PST by Kid Shelleen
The city is facing a looming financial crisis, as health care and pension costs for municipal workers are rising faster than revenues and could potentially threaten the most basic services, according to a new report.
The report, released Wednesday by The Pew Charitable Trusts and Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, concludes that serious troubles lie ahead without swift and substantial change. It also suggests that a weakening economy will make the road rougher still.
"The city cannot just throw more money at pensions and health care without raising taxes or immediately strangling other services," ---snip--- Health care for municipal workers cost the city more than $9,800 per employee in fiscal 2006 -- a figure second only to Detroit.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbs3.com ...
Couldn’t happen to a nicer liberal cesspool!
Why is it that an increase in “diversity” always correlates to a decrease in tax revenue?
The taxpayers suffer because they get nothing for the taxes they pay as it is given to hacks that do nothing, paid for retirement and offer nothing.
crap! what will the city workers who spend all day in rittenhouse square doing nothing do?!?!?!?
Hmmm.
Maybe they should just let UPenn take over the whole place. The university has done a great job turning a big swath of West Philadelphia form a murder-ridden hell-hole into a nice gentrified student neighborhood, and did so in such a way as to provide jobs for West Philadelphians, thereby winning the support of local community leader (read black Baptist pastors). They also run one of, if not the, biggest HMO in the Delaware Valley, and, of course, would bring the Wharton School’s expertise to the project.
The unions will demand increased pensions and post-retirment health care, regardless.
The politicians, generally needing the union block labor vote, will generally go along. During contract negotiations, the unions/pols will generally trade off salary demands for sweetened pensions, since increasing pension benefits don’t immediately affect the budget. Then, the problem grows and grows and grows.
And then, the local and state pols will look to Washington (i.e. the nation’s taxpayers) for a solution.
“The city is facing a looming financial crisis, as health care and pension costs for municipal workers are rising faster than revenues”
and the benefits - to government workers - are rising beyond their current heights, which are greater than the average citizen will ever see
That’s my feeling too. Let them eat dirt for all I care.
Hey phillybuckaroos, why so glum? Dinja hear that the US of A is ridin to the rescue with a whoop an a holler and a fistful of dollars?
$300 US, no less, soon to be coming to your little grubbie fingers so you can save your city.
Why its not just gonna save Philly but the entire country and the whole wide world!
so buck up, rangers and buy a couple cheese steaks...its gonna be allll right.
/sarc
DUH!! It’s run by LIBERALS!!
DUH!! It’s run by LIBERALS!!
Social Security and Medicare bills are swamping the federal governments ability to pay them in the future, but none of the presidential candidates dares mention that unpleasant fact.
Mind you Philadelphia already taxes wages, profits - AND gross business receipts. That’s right folks, the City of Philadelphia will make a business that loses money pay taxes. PLUS there is a business privileges license for the privilege of doing business in the city AND (no I’m not done yet)the city forces all businesses to prepay their taxes for the next year in advance.
Oh I left something out, the city which needs more money has its own minimum wage much higher than the federal, which forces anyone providing services to the city to pay a higher minimum wage oh yes I’m not done yet.
They require minority participation of up to 20% in all city projects which results in “minority companies” consisting of one minority owner, which collect the 20% of city contracts as a pass through without adding anything to the job.
And now I want to cry reading that they “need” to raise taxes.
Don’t worry. Governor Rendell will save the day.
/s
ping
Wow, there’s a shocker....
No this can’t be. They have had the little people leadership for so long. How could this happen? /sarcasm
What’s going to happen to the debt-laden US Empire, but on a smaller scale. None of the candidates but Ron Paul will face this fact and offer solutions.
So the liberal, feel good, joke of a system is imploding and their solution is to tell the taxpayers to bend over, yet again. And the sheople keep electing Democrat-Socialist. Talk about stuck on stupid.
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