Posted on 06/22/2008 7:58:17 AM PDT by T.L.Sink
Philadelphia has one of the most backward and incompetent city governments in America. It suffers from a combination of failed civic institutions, a deeply embedded racial paranoia that undermines law enforcement, and a local culture that has come to shrug at the urban chaos this produces. In 2006, the one-or-two-a-day-and a-dozen-on-weekends murder spree that earned "Killadelphia" its rap as an urban abattoir resulted in 406 people dead. It's clearly not all about poverty. Miami, America's poorest major city, saw 79 homicides in all of 2006. In March 2006, more Americans died violently on the streests of Philadelphia than in Iraq - and March wasn't the city's worst month that year. Philadelphia has some of the worst public schools in the country, so incompetently run that the state had to take them over in 2001. And this mess was in the hands of America's least competent mayor, John Street. The worst of the murder rampage corresponds roughly with the Street years, and it's not difficult to see why. Street's administration was a crime wave of corruption and malfeasance in its own right.
(Excerpt) Read more at nrd.nationalreview.com ...
“What was it that Mayor Street said about who was running the city?”
Well I don’t know what Mayor Street said but I do know what Rendell said and I can tell you that no Mayor runs this city. The second anyone steps away from the idea that a mayor or police commissioner in Philly, along with any kind of corruption coming from either office, are anything but side notes is the second that person will be closer to the truth with regard to what’s going on and who actually runs this city.
The same folks who helped them get into this bleak situation.
It's interesting that Democrats cater to the poor by giving them handouts and the like, but they never give them what they need to get out of poverty. Democrats only give what makes the poor beholden to them. After 80 years of the same-old-same-old promises to end their poverty, you'd think they'd catch on...guess not.
Don't get me started on how Philly is one of the few cities that still is almost exclusively "no-bid" ie a dictatorship by the building trade unions.
“After 80 years of the same-old-same-old promises to end their poverty, you’d think they’d catch on...guess not.”
Receiving welfare and blaming everyone else for your problems - apparently - is more appealing to them than going to school - working hard at a marriage - and promoting the idea of self reliance.
It is difficult - the men have been taught for years that they are off the hook. That they don’t belong in the home with a wife and children.
They sire children and leave.
It’s very difficult to raise children by yourself, and that’s where the demcrats jump in and say “you don’t need him - you’ve got us!”
Sad, indeed. I think most blacks bring their inculcated notions of absurd conspiracy thories and racial oppression wuth them to the table, which ultimately means there can’t be any rational dialogue. It’s really alarming,for example, that some of these ideas, which are utterly absurd - and ALL know they are - are actually being discussed by “serious” people. This is why, in my opinion, such dialogues are meaningless and don’t begin to face the real and serious qusstions about race. It’s time to stop the PR bullshit and be serious. But the PR class won’t cooerate.
I think you may be right about that. What Philly needs now are immigrants who have the innate sense that hard work will make them part of our free society and NOT be part of an entiitled class. Unfortunately, we now have a subcultural class which is dominating our political, economic, and cultural life.
It’s a little hard to tell over a computer whether you’re agreeing with me or disagreeing but it doesn’t matter, I agree with you, you just made my point...the mayor does not run this city.
Cosby's been pointing out this type of behavior for years. However, the way the welfare system is set up, it makes economic sense for the father not to be present in the home. The end result is that we now have a fifth generation of welfare recipients who know no other way to function.
The solution is workfare, where you must show up at 6:30AM every day and perform those tasks that, as some would have us believe, Americans are loathe to do. After working 40 hours each week cleaning toilets in public buildings or even sweeping the streets, in order to draw your welfare check, perhaps then they might seek a better job, invest in themselves, or at least encourage their kids to do better in school. Perhaps then the $200 sneakers and $400 X-box would take a back seat to some educational products (e.g., books, magazines, etc.) around the house. But, Jesse and Al want to play the victim theme and have us throw more tax dollars at it. Well, after four decades of throwing billions down that sink hole and seeing no improvement, I think another approach (workfare) is warranted.
“The Sad Philadelphia Story”
The other day I heard of a youth church group going on a mission trip
to one of our sunbelt states.
They were flying out of their home city, Philadelphia.
My first thought is “If there’s a tough urban scene that should be
a ‘mission field’...Philly would be somewhere near the top of the list!”
Let me see Obama talked about cities like this being engines of regional economic growth. What a jokster. A lot of cities as this article shows can’t even do the most basic functions of government right.
He made a statement that "The Bros are now running the city" meaning of course that the corruption money can now be channeled to the "bros".
I know what you mean. When I was at Penn, South Philly (south of Market St.) was largely Italian-American and relatively crime free. By the way, my dad is a Drexel alumnus and s great engineer!
Frank Rizzo was subjected to a lot of hate and ridicule by the liberals and blacks for his “tough” regime as a cop before he became mayor. But I can tell you that the city was safe for law-abiding people. I could tell you some personal experiences from those years. Rizzo was a “law and order” man and that’s what’s needed now. At one point, I had to take the Market St. subway to the Frankford “L”, up to the Northeast regularly. What a difference when Rizzo became Police Commissioner! But that’s another story I can tell you later.
Nutter is an interesting case. He won the Dem primary in a 5 way race where 2 of the extreme far left dingbats (Congressjerks Fattah and Brady) split the vote. As far as Democrat mayors go, Nutter is relatively ok. He’s a pretty smart guy and ran on an aggressive ‘stop-and-frisk’ policing approach to try and get some of the repeat animals off the street. The city is 80% Dem and the GOP is non-existent so Nutter was a fairly attractive candidate to moderates. Knowing the GOP couldn’t beat Charlie Manson if he had the (D) after his name in Philly, I personally prayed that Nutter beat Fattah and Brady, both of whom are utterly detestable individuals. Nutter has no chance to succeed since the far left lunatics who really run the city hate him. The culture of the city is too far gone after 50 years of uninterrupted Democrat corruption (including Rizzo) to be changed. The local media is to the left of moveon.org. I do think Nutter is at least trying to do some better things on crime, however.
You’re right but I’m concerned about all the reasons it came to be that way. By the way, did you read in the article about the differences between NYC and Philadelphia with respect to the economy and the powers of the mayors in both cities? Also, the “main line” towns - from Paoli to Chestnut Hill, Radford, Bryn Mawr, etc. are still very prosperous and exclusive. You’re certainly right about the northeast, which used to be solid lower-middle class (but upwardly mobile), but that area is already starting to resemble Zimbabwe more than traditional America.
There are large numbers of folks who live in Center City, but commute to places in Montco and Chester County because that is where all the jobs are.
Regarding the Northeast: say what you will about racial change, but I have never seen that many poor whites with "social problems" in an American urban area. The upwardly mobile pushed their kids to go to college, and even those who had worked their way up in the building trades left along time ago.
Most overrated politician in American history. Would have fit in perfectly in the old country (talk tough, encourage graft and featherbedding). Most of the current fiscal problems of Philly can be laid on decisions taken by Mayor Riz back in the day.
I really like your sense of humor, especially the line about “Charlie Manson with the ‘D’ after his name!” Thanks for the information about the specifics of Phila. city politics. Do you think the article is right about Nutter? I get the impression he’s certainly the lesser of many evils but still, albeit more passive, a liberal boob. Is that accurate?
NYC was thought to be hopelessly ungovernable and crime-ridden UNTIL Rudy cleaned things up by proving that an aggressive and “zero tolerance” law enforcement policy could move the city into the lowest per capita crime rate of any major city.
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