pennsylvania government: Philadelphia Metropolis

The Last Hurrah

Tuesday's election is probably the last time we will see Michael Nutter's name on a ballot for public office. The mayor will be 58 when his second term ends.  The City Charter limits him to two consecutive terms.  I don't... (Comments)

Privatizing the LCB

Although it generates tons of cash, the dirty little secret about the Pennsylvania Liquor Control system is that it does not produce much in the way of profits. Out of $1.5 billion in sales, the LCB ended with a net... (Comments)

That Sinking Feeling

Why do I get a sinking feeling when looking at the numbers for the Philadelphia economy?  Nationally, economists are debating whether the recession is about to return. It looks like it already has landed in Philadelphia. All the major indices... (Comments)

Pension Strangulation

The fundamental problem with Philadelphia's pension fund for city employees is that it doesn't have enough money to pay pensions to all today and in the future who will collect them. The fund has $4.9 billion on hand, not... (Comments)

Exploit and Escape?

@font-face { font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }table.MsoNormalTable { font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } Gov. Corbett's Marcellus Shale commission came out... (Comments)