Philadelphia Daily Record

Vol. II No. 7 (165)

Keeping You Posted With The Politics Of Philadelphia

February 18, 2011

Philadelphia Daily Record

Leading In

JOBS IN 2010, PENNSYLVANIA ranked third among all 50 states in number of jobs created – 65,000 of them. Labor economists argue it’s due to successful deployment of stimulus at State and Federal levels. See story page 2.

Casey: Block Congressional Pay During A Government Shutdown

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US Senators Bob Casey (D-Pa.) today called for the pay of Members of Congress and the President of the United States to be blocked in the event of a federal government. A government shutdown had been threatened by some Washington politicians.

“Economists have warned that a government shutdown would hurt the economy and endanger job creation,” said the Senator. “A shutdown in a fragile economic recovery will hurt people who have already suffered through the recession. If it comes to a government shutdown, everyone should agree Members of Congress and the President should not receive pay or retroactive pay.”

Washington Republican leaders have refused to take the threat of a government shutdown off the table, even though a shutdown would affect the lives of millions of Americans by disrupting Social Security checks, benefits for veterans and paychecks for our troops.

The legislation introduced today with Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Cal.) prevents Members of Congress and the President from being paid THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD

retroactively after a government shutdown and would also prevent them from being paid if the publicdebt limit is reached and the government defaults on its financial obligations.

Currently, Members of Congress and the President are treated differently from millions of other Federal Employees because they are paid through mandatory spending required by law (2 U.S.C. 31 and 3 U.S.C 102) rather than through the annual appropriations process.

The legislation fixes this inequity by saying that the President and Members of Congress “shall not receive basic pay for any period in which there is more than a 24 hour lapse in appropriations for any Federal agency or department as a result of a failure to enact a regular appropriations bill or continuing resolution OR if the Federal Government is unable to make payments or meet obligations because the debt limit….has been reached.”

Two Years after Recovery Act, Policymakers Fixated On Wrong Deficit The key to reining in the federal fiscal deficit lies not in job-crushing spending cuts and tax breaks for the rich but in policies that create new jobs and boost middleclass wages, according to a new 18 JANUARY, 2011

policy brief from the Keystone Research Center.

pay below market-based norms for their industry.”

Prolonged joblessness and stagnant wages will continue to stifle tax revenues. By closing these deficits, policymakers can rein in the fiscal deficit, while building on the success of the American Recovery Act and other federal policies, which saved 400,000 jobs in Pennsylvania and prevented the state’s unemployment rate from rising above 15%.

Saturday is the two-year anniversary of Congress’s passage of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act. To mark the occasion, Keystone researchers have updated an earlier analysis showing how many jobs the Recovery Act and other federal actions saved in Pennsylvania and its metropolitan areas. The estimates are derived from a national-level analysis of the impact of federal economic intervention that was co-authored by economist Alan Binder and John McCain economic adviser Mark Zandi.

“Policymakers remain fixated on the wrong deficit,” said Stephen Herzenberg, PhD, an Economist and Executive Director of the Keystone Research Center.

“For Main Street families, the jobs deficit and the wage deficit matter a lot more than the federal fiscal deficit.”

Congressional Republicans, however, are pushing for deep cuts to federal spending a few months after insisting on billions in new spending to continue Bush era tax cuts for the richest 2%.

“Pairing tax cuts for the rich with job-crushing spending cuts risks a worst-of-both-worlds outcome where the economy slips again, and the jobs, wage, and fiscal deficits all grow,” said Dr. Herzenberg, who co-authored the policy brief with Labor Economist Mark Price, PhD. Pennsylvania is emerging from the recession with job growth exceeding that of many other states. In 2010, the Commonwealth added more than 65,000 jobs, ranking third among the 50 states in the number of jobs created. Adjusting for the size of each state’s economy, Pennsylvania job growth still exceeded three-fourths of all states.

“Continued investments in infrastructure, boosting skills and innovation in critical industries, and in unemployment benefits are key to keeping our economic momentum going and reining in the job deficit,” Dr. Price said. “A starting point on the wage deficit would be to raise the minimum wage – an action taken to help end the Great Depression – and requiring that companies receiving State job-creation subsidies not 18 FEBRUARY, 2011

Pennsylvania’s economy would have been much worse off without the policy actions taken by the Federal Reserve, the Bush and Obama administrations, and Congress in the wake of the Great Recession. Unemployment rates (as of December 2010) would have spiraled to 20% in the City of Philadelphia and nearly 15% in the Philadelphia metro area, including Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia Cos. and parts of New Jersey and Delaware (117,000 jobs saved).

“By acting forcefully when the economy was on the verge of collapse, policymakers applied the historical lessons of the Great Depression,” Dr. Herzenberg said.

“Pulling back now will cost jobs and set the recovery back. Those who forget history, as the saying goes, are doomed to repeat it.”

Holt Announces 10% Jump In Container Volume At S. Philly Terminal Led by the new Black Pearl Service Line, Packer Avenue Marine Terminal continues to compete successfully for container cargo, as evidenced by statistics released today showing a 10% increase in container volumes over the last 12 months.

Best of all, the Terminal’s robust growth has created more than 200 additional jobs at Packer, and that num-

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ber is expected to grow as new lines begin calling in the weeks ahead.

Feb. 18Fundraiser for Lou Lanni for City Council at SmokeEaters, 7681 Frankford Ave., 7-10 p.m., $40 includes draft and food.

Checks payable to Lou Lanni for City Council, 914 Clinton St., Phila., PA 19107. RSVP (267) 815-1188.

Feb. 185th Ward Democrat leader Mike Boyle hosts dinner fundraiser for 5th Ward committeepersons at Bella Cena, 1506 Spruce St., 7 p.m. Candidates invited, $50 fee.

Feb. 19Several N.E. Democrat Wards host Meet & Greet for candidates and Petition Signing Event at Plumbers Union Local 690, Waterfall Rm., 2791 Southampton Rd., 4-8 p.m. Free to all registered Democrats. Judicial candidates and incumbents only please contact Robert N. Dellavella (215) 335-4004.

Feb. 19St. Valentine Party hoisted by 56th Ward Democrat leader John P. Sabatina, Sr. and State Rep. John P. Sabatina, Jr. at American Legion Post 810, 9151 Old Newtown Rd. Tickets $50; at door, $60. For info (215) 3425816.

Feb. 2061st Ward Fundraiser at Deja Vu, 5929 N. 5th St., 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Petitions welcome. Tickets $50. For info (215) 790-9570.

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“Our goal is to increase the amount of container business that calls on Philadelphia, because that means opportunity and jobs for our region,” said Thomas J. Holt Jr., president of Astro Holdings, Inc., which leases PAMT under a long-term concession with the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority. “The arrival of the Black Pearl Line signals to the world that the Port of Philadelphia is growing, and with the deepening of the Delaware River, we believe that the Port’s best years lie ahead of us.”

The Black Pearl Line, which commenced at PAMT on Jan. 28 and is now fully operational, now links on northbound routes from San Antonio and Arica in Chile; Callao in Peru; Guayaquil in Ecuador; and also Manzanillo, Panama; Kingston, Jamaica; and Miami via CMA CGM Black Pearl Service. Three ships carrying refrigerated cargoes already have called at PAMT, and bigger ships are anticipated in the coming weeks.

And of course, the new Maersk Spondylus service makes its expected debut at PAMT next week, generating more cargo and economic opportunity at the Port.

“The arrival of the Black Pearl Line marks an important step in the ongoing transformation at Packer,” said Holt. “We live in an increasingly globalized world, so strengthening our connections to South America is likely to continue providing dividends for the port community, especially as we build a strong niche working with refrigerated cargoes.”

First Lady Susan Corbett To Open Statewide Tourism Summit Even as a buzz grows around the Commonwealth that its new Governor, Tom Corbett, is seldom seen in public, a new entrant to the limelight may be planning to do some shining for him. That’s his wife.

Susan Corbett will deliver the opening remarks at the statewide Tourism Summit on Monday, Mar. 14 at The Hilton Harrisburg. The three-day event, hosted by The Pennsylvania Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus, the Pennsylvania Tourism and Lodging Association and the Pennsylvania Tourism Coalition, is titled “Together for Tourism,” and strives to bring together many industry partners to explore ways to work more collaboratively toward a stronger voice with our new Governor and State legislature. The event will include representatives of every facet of THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD

18 JANUARY, 2011

Pennsylvania tourism, including museums, wineries, golf courses, hotels, restaurants, attractions, the arts, suppliers and many other tourism partners, largely made up of small businesses and nonprofit organizations.

“We are extremely pleased to have Pennsylvania’s First Lady officially kick off our Tourism Summit,” said Rob Fulton, president of PACVB. “Tourism is an integral part of our economy and to have Mrs. Corbett recognize its importance to the Commonwealth is an honor.”

During the 1990s, Mrs. Corbett was special projects manager for the president’s office at Carnegie Museums and the director’s office of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Mrs. Corbett then became assistant producer, and, ultimately, executive director of Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures, a nationally recognized literary-arts organization. After her husband was elected AttorneyGeneral, Mrs. Corbett moved to Harrisburg, where she became VP of programs and development of the Gettysburg Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and heritage of Gettysburg.

Tales Of Black Revolutionary War Soldiers To Be Told At Fairmount Water Works Join Robert A. Selig, PhD, as he describes the experience of African American Soldiers in the American War of Independence on Thursday, Feb. 24 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center, located at 640 Water Works Drive.

In honor of Black History Month, Dr. Selig will account in vivid detail the experience of some 5,000 free and enslaved African Americans who were said to have fought in the Continental Army between 1775 and 1783 and how many more enslaved people were anxious to join in the fight for “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. Ironically, these patriot soldiers voluntarily took up arms, with or without the consent 18 FEBRUARY, 2011

of their masters, fighting for both their own freedom as well as that of the country who did not want them to fight, because they were Black.

These African American soldiers were an integral component of the Continental Army on the march to Yorktown. Additionally, President Barack Obama signed into law the Washington Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail in March 2009 to commemorate the march on Yorktown through interpretive signs along Schuylkill Banks at Market Street.

Dr. Selig is Historical Consultant to the National Park Service for the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail. He has provided historical consulting to many State and local governments and has contributed to numerous publications on Revolutionary War topics.

Support for this program was provided by American Women’s Heritage Society/Belmont Mansion, Schuylkill River National and State Heritage Area, Fairmount Park Council for Historic Sites, Schuylkill River Development Corp., National Park Service, W3R-NHT and Schuylkill Banks.

The Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center is operated by the Philadelphia Water Dept. and open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and on Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. The Center is closed on Mondays and City holidays. All programs are free of charge and suitable for people of all ages and interests. The Center is fully ADA accessible. For more information about the Interpretive Center programs, visit www.fairmountwaterworks.org or call (215) 685-0723. Follow us on Facebook at “Fairmount Water Works” and also on Twitter @FWWIC.

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