I will admit to some surprise that The Philadelphia Inquirer gave OpEd space to Jennifer Stefano, the executive vice president of the Commonwealth Foundation and a fellow at the Independent Women’s Forum. After all, Miss Stefano and the Commonwealth Foundation support “transforming free-market ideas into actionable public policies, we’re ensuring all people can flourish.”
Pennsylvanians are moving to red states in search of smaller government, school choice, and lower taxes, writes Jennifer Stefano.
by Jennifer Stefano | Monday, June 13, 2022
Widespread shortages. Economic tumult. Disappearing businesses. When Ayn Rand released her magnum opus, Atlas Shrugged, in 1957, her critics considered it a work of fiction. She did not.
Her art is now imitating life in Pennsylvania. Fiction or not, Rand was prescient.
She predicted a world where government and “looters” (as she called them) exploited producers. A mysterious man named John Galt gets those business owners and workers to leave and recreate a free and fair society elsewhere.
In Pennsylvania, leaders like Gov. Tom Wolf and Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney demonize financially successful individuals, with promises that if the all-powerful government bureaucracy could just take more of their money, our problems would be solved. Wolf, Kenney, and their supporters operate under the misguided belief that bigger government will heal the Earth, defeat racism, and end poverty.
Worthy goals, wrong solutions — and Pennsylvanians know it. While some will wait for November to register their discontent at the ballot box, many are already voting with their feet.
Honestly, I wish I could reproduce the entire thing, but you can read it for yourself if you follow the embedded link. Alas! in my search to see if it had been published elsewhere, I could not find it, and the Inquirer’s articles are hidden behind a paywall; I pay for a subscription so that you don’t have to! However, the inquirer does allow people a few free articles a month, so if you haven’t followed too manty of my links, you might be able to read the whole thing.
Miss Stefano continues to document for us the strong net emigration from the Keystone State, and notes to where Pennsylvanians have been moving, Texas, Arizona and, especially, Florida, all states with lower state taxes and more business-friendly laws and regulations.
It is a familiar story for Philadelphia, where the nearly century-long run of one-party rule and unrealistic policies has sent people fleeing to the suburbs. Now it’s driving them into the waiting arms of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — and the rest of Pennsylvania is following.
Miss Stefano’s points are a bit too economic specific, not that they are not valid, but such ignores the rest of Philadelphia’s horrible mismanagement, as made plainly obvious by the city’s homicide rate. As of 11:59 PM EDT on Sunday, June 12th, 227 Philadelphians had been sent untimely to their eternal rewards, and if the South Street shootings made for big headlines, only three of those victims, at least one the criminal who shot the first bullets, actually died. In the week since then, nine more people were butchered in the city’s mean streets.
A poll by the Pew Charitable Trust found that 70% of Philadelphians believe that public safety is the most important issue facing the city, and also noted that in the very diverse overall, but internally highly segregated, black and Hispanic residents felt unsafe at significantly higher rates than whites.
The Inquirer’s Editorial Board was appalled, though seemingly more appalled that whites didn’t feel as unsafe as others:
What does it mean to be a segregated city in a gun violence crisis? According to the Controller’s Office’s gun violence mapping toll, the zip codes of Rittenhouse Square and Chestnut Hill, where about 70% of the population is white, haven’t experienced a fatal shooting since before 2015. Contrast that with nearly 200 fatal shootings in North Philadelphia-Strawberry Mansion, where more than 90% of the population is Black, or nearly 240 in the Kensington-Port Richmond area, with a Hispanic population of 50%.
Given that white Americans are, in general, wealthier than black and Hispanic citizens, white Philadelphians have the greater ability to head for the Sunshine State. What that means as far as emigration is concerned, because white Philadelphians are simply safer, in general, than black or Hispanic residents, needed to be further explored.
We do know, however, that the white population of the city has dropped precipitously.
It’s easy to see why. Florida lawmakers have spent the last 22 years slashing government spending, zeroing out the income tax, lowering others, creating a vibrant school choice model with state education dollars, and fostering a business-friendly climate. . . . .
The key to righting the ship in Pennsylvania is simple and should be bipartisan. As the Commonwealth Foundation’s poll shows, a majority of voters across parties want what Florida has: low taxes, less government spending, school choice, and jobs and opportunity for themselves and their children.
The solution offered by Wolf and Kenney? Increase property taxes. Let crime run rampant. Stifle any opportunity to foster an education landscape that puts parents in the driver’s seat. Push endlessly for tax hikes against middle-to-upper-income earners.
It’s simple: Philadelphia is ruled by Democrats, has been for three generations, and Governor Wolf’s and Mayor Kenney’s plans fall right in line with standard Democratic Party tropes.
Going after people with money has become the one solution that unites Democrats. It’s a populist cause with devastating results. As Rand foretold, there will always be a Ron DeSantis (or John Galt) creating a place where all people can flourish. When wealthy people leave, those of us without the means or opportunity to follow are left behind. That means fewer tax dollars for government programs, fewer jobs, and less opportunity.
The wealthy should pay taxes just like everyone else. But good luck getting the money when they’re already gone.
One thing has become painfully clear: Democratic policies simply do not work. Conservatives have been telling the left that for decades, but the response of the left has always been to claim that the only problems are that they just didn’t go far enough; Democrats always double down.
I stated that I was surprised that the Inquirer gave Miss Stefano the OpEd space, but, on the front page of the newspaper’s website, at least as of 7:45 PM EDT on Monday, June 13th, immediately below Miss Stefano’s article was another entitled “Too much property tax relief will put city schools at risk“. The Inquirer never misses an opportunity to advocate for the policies which have failed in the past.
Sometimes, you just can’t make up this stuff!
