"The city, state and federal officials who represent Philadelphia should approach elected officials in New Jersey with a plan to redraw the Pennsylvania-New Jersey border so that Philadelphia becomes part of New Jersey," writes Drexel University professor Richardson Dilworth (namesake grandson of the reforming 1950s Philadelphia mayor) in the Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy here (scroll to Publications).
After 318 years - why should Philadelphia switch?
For power, and money: As in-state neighbors "Philadelphia and Camden can be consolidated into a single city," easing Camden's dependence on its decrepit tax base and fat state subsidies (as my colleague Matt Katz shows here).
And don't stop at today's city lines, says Dilworth. Consolidation should also add "some of their New Jersey suburbs... starting, say, with Pennsauken, then Collingswood, then Merchantville, then Woodlyne, and so on - until there were enough higher-income communities added to compensate for the tax burden of Camden, yet not so much that their residents would have the clout to stop the consolidation," especially if their votes were pooled, in a single election, with pro-merger Camden voters.
What about the children? Suburban schools would be reorganized as locally-controlled charter schools, Dilworth says.
And the politicians? New Jersey's typically dominant Democrats would gain all those Philadelphia Democratic voters. Pennsylvania Republicans would be glad to get rid of them. And Philadelphia would win more clout as nearly one-fifth of New Jersey than it suffers in its current stepchild status as less than one-eighth of Pennsylvania.
Sounds "outlandish", as Dilworth admits. Yet mergers, even hostile takeovers, are "standard practice for private firms, which routinely play states and municipalities against one another in order to extract the greatest benefits of locating" one place versus another.
"In suggesting Philadelphia move to New Jersey, I am merely sugesting that cities act more like private firms," to cut expenses, eliminate waste, and boost returns to owners and services to customers - the citizen-residents.
Don't we need Congress to change State lines? As recently as 2001, Dilworth notes, the House of Representatives voted to move the Utah-Nevada border to allow prosperous West Wendover, Nevada, to absorb ailing Wendover, Utah. In the previous century the federal government adjusted the border between Chester County, Pa., and New Castle County, Del., among other boundaries.
The key to actually moving Philadelphia into New Jersey, Dilworth concludes, "is structuring the proposal so that it beneifts a majority of the relevant stakeholders and decision-makers at local, state and national levels." So it could benefit residents, too.
Will Aryanization of wealth for National Efficiency and the elimination of waste be a part of the program?— Fernando08
Yeah, right. We should merge with Camden. Would do wonders for Philadelphia. Go back to the ivory tower.— Jim19130
Actually, rather than have Philly defect to NJ, I have a better idea. Working in concert with New York, we should mobilize the PA and NY Nat'l Guards and annex New Jersey. Make Route 195 the border between the two new parts of PA and NY.
And, oh yeah, grant statehood to Puerto Rico; that way we won't have to change Old Glory.- I'll never get the 30 seconds of my life it took for me to read this article back.— veritas1325
Comment removed.- So long as the banner changes to the New Jersey Inquirer and Will Bunch moves to the other side of the river, I'm all for it.— cb54
- Also, think of the burden of the NJ DMV-having to retrain all the Philadelphians to actually use turn signals and to keep right when not passing on the highway.— JSaq
Another good reason to move out of the city.
If not youll endure the draconian NJ gun laws....
- How could DiStefano write this article? Has he gone mad?— USAFirst1
- NJ has the highest property taxes in the nation. Ya think ppl in Philly want to pay higher property taxes? NJ and Pa have drastically different gun laws. Are Philadelphians willing to give up their current rights for the privilege of merging with NJ? FOH clown!!!— MrBigDizzle
- Dumbest article ever. I want that time back.— Vote for Dickie
Some people write articles for publication strictly because they can. They have ZERO baring on the world, and now I am actually less intelligent than when I started the article.
I wouldn't want to join NJ. However, I've been saying for years that Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties from PA, and New Castle county from DE should join and form a new state, leaving Pennsyltucky and lower-slower to die with their economic hearts ripped away.— Pelti- How would Philadelphia benefit financially? Hmmm, let's see. New Jersey funds its schools, roads, and transit MUCH better than PA does. It has the best public schools in the nation. I would gladly pay higher property taxes (mine are under $1K) if it meant I didn't have to leave the city when my kid turns 5. As a state, New Jersey has the most productive economy in the nation per person - for every $1 of federal benefits NJ gets, it contributes $1.60 or so - higher than any state, much higher than PA's $1 for $1 contribution. It is an economic engine. Meanwhile, Philadelphia just keeps getting worse - subsidizing Pennsylvania directly through the tax system and indirectly by acting as the state's nursing home, halfway house, and welfare center. Sounds like an idea worth considering.— js5180
- Comment removed.
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