Scranton is a classic example of what happens under Democrat control.
City withholding taxes are at 3.4% versus adjacent cities collecting 1%. The Real Estate transfer tax is currently 4.3% versus the 2% in surrounding communities. The city has been studying an additional “commuter tax”.
This is a city where the median income for a household is $28,800.00.
Scranton is the answer to whether a city can tax it’s way to prosperity.
If it wasn’t for the University of Scranton, the city wouldn’t exist.
---But has not run out of Obama supporters.
Over in DUmmyland, the blame is being given to the governor of PA.
Scranton is right on the edge of the Marcellus Shale boom.
It is a natural hub for the energy explosion in Northeast PA, but as others have said taxes have something to do with keeping Scranton from enjoying some of the boom. If you have to pay 3.8% income tax to live within the city limits, that keeps gas company employees who are having a hard time finding rental housing out.
If folks are willing to commute from Hawley to Towanda to work in the hat gas industry, they would be even more willing to do so from Scranton since it is so much closer.
Also if the DRBC would get off its butt and end the moratorium on drilling in parts of Lackawanna and all of Wayne Counties, that might also make a difference.
Clearly it’s time to raise taxes.