yeah, you know that article. its only been around for a couple days and its gotten people really worked up, including myself.
» who the fuck does their factchecking? everyone knows the “sixth borough” is hoboken/jersey city. my expertise on this subject comes from living in a town dubbed “the brainy boro”.
» ultimately, what makes me go BAAAARF! about this piece is how the term “ten year tax abatement” gets thrown around as if its a hip new fashion at urban outfitters. but hey, this is in the style section.
so let me get this straight — not only do the two major construction projects in philly [cira centre & comcast tower] have tax abatements to lure businesses, a majority of home construction has the same thing? has the city lost its fucking mind?
[as an aside, remember that when liberty 1&2 were constructed the city offered the same thing; now those leases are coming up and many of the businesses which reside there are considering moving to the new buildings so that they -- guess what? -- avoid paying taxes for another 10 years.]
id like to know how the city plans on funding itself, if no one is paying the taxes [though stifling and tax restructuring is a topic for another time] we desperately need. on the good side, when all the homes of these carpetbaggers [yes, im totally calling them that from now on, so eff off] burn down, there won’t be a fire department to rescue them.
its folks like us, who may or may not have well-paying gigs, its citizens of the city’s most blighted areas that will be paying for this revitalization and frankly, that sucks. and they want to cheer us up with free wireless internet.
» on the good side of things: there’s the championing of local music, laris & kendra. but thats really it.
» it feels like every three months there’s an article about how philadelphia’s suffering a “brain drain”. but now im reading about how so many people are flocking to this city. im not sure i understand — does this mean all the smart people are being replaced with assholes?
» last night at locust bar karaoke [which i hope now does not become crowded with carpetbaggers] my friends and i discovered that i am quite good at impersonating sam kinison. so please, imagine all this in his voice, and pepper the end of statements with a few good screams.
