Stu Bykofsky: Why 'out there' in Pa. they resent us 'in here'

THE SCOTTISH poet Robert Burns wrote about the gift "to see ourselves as others see us."

Let's take a look-see around Pennsylvania.

When was the last time you thought about Elk County? How about Westmoreland County? Pike? Lycoming and Wyoming? Do you even know where they are?

They know where we are and they don't always like what they see.

How do we see them?

We repeat James Carville's line about Pennsylvania being Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with Alabama in between, and we chuckle over President Obama's casual remark about how "they" cling to their religion and their guns.

They call themselves Pennsylvanians; we call ourselves Philadelphians. A smug portrait emerges. We see ourselves with arts, pro sports, finance, communications and culture. They see us as a concerto of crime, corruption and squandered tax dollars.

This stew of resentment is partly economics, partly politics, partly culture.

"Out there" thinks Philly soaks up more than its fair share of state spending. Philadelphia feels shortchanged. Does the state get more from Philadelphia than it gives, or the reverse? The answer comes later.

Money is one root of the Mutual Antagonism Society. Everyone feels deprived and wails like a redheaded stepchild.

A recent Daily News editorial described the rest of the state's feelings toward Philadelphia as "irrational hatred." Many share that opinion.

It's more contempt than hatred, I think. Whatever we call it, state Rep. Kate Harper doesn't think it's all that "irrational."

Harper took time to school me, at my request, on how Philadelphia is viewed from "out there."

Philadelphia seems a perennial beggar in Harrisburg, she says, "while in the Poconos, Monroe and Carbon counties have deep problems, too." According to the USDA's Economic Research Service, the poverty rate in the state's urban areas is 11.5 percent. It's higher - 12.4 percent - in rural areas, while Philly's 23 percent tops this unfortunate list.

A moderate Republican, Harper is a mother of two sons, a lawyer-turned-legislator representing an upper-middle-class slice of Montgomery County.

First, let me deprogram readers who see the word "Republican" and start projectile-vomiting and making the sign of the cross.

Harper doesn't hate Philadelphia. She was born in Roxborough, earned her undergraduate degree at La Salle. Her husband's an Olney lifer. She bleeds Phillies red and Eagles green.

The Mutual Antagonism Society is partly cultural, Harper says. Philly is a big urban area while "most of the state is sparse rural areas." For the state, population density is 278 persons per square mile. Philadelphia has that many per block - 10,799 souls per square mile.

"Out of respect for Philadelphia and the problems it's having," Harper voted in favor of restricting gun purchases to one a month. (The bill failed.)

Guns are a "matter of pride" in much of the state, Harper says, like fast cars and boats. "Gun crime is not a problem in the rest of the state," she says evenly, without the arched eyebrow that means "like it is in Philadelphia."

They believe that guns made us free and keep us free, and wonder why they should be burdened with laws to solve problems they don't have.

Politically, Philly typically sends Democrats to Harrisburg, while the state's vast outback elects Republicans.

"Out there," the term "Philly-style politics" is a smack in the face.

Harper rattles off a familiar litany: Excesses of the Delaware River Port Authority, incompetence of the Board of Revision of Taxes, City Council getting cars and the DROP program, Rick Mariano, Corey Kemp, Vince Fumo.

We're supposed to fund those jokers, they think "out there," when they don't care about us?

Case in point is the scheme to put tolls on I-80, the high-speed, east-west artery across the northern tier of counties. People "out there" fear that tolling I-80 will wreck their economy.

Does Philly care? No. Is Philly even aware? No.

That's their perception of us, and perception creates its own reality.

Finally, state spending. In education - 40 percent of the state budget - Philadelphia gets a lot more than it pays. "Out there," they know it, and resent it.

I wanted to know if Philadelphia, in total, pays more to the state than it gets back. I called city and state revenue offices, even House Democratic Appropriations Chairman Dwight Evans, who's been in Harrisburg since God rode a trike. Unbelievably, they couldn't answer the question.

Neither could the Pennsylvania Economy League.

I was told that it's too complicated. Too many streams of revenue intertwined like a bowl of spaghetti.

One person did take a stab at it: Andrew Ritter, executive director of the GOP Policy Committee. Crunching Revenue Department data, he says that Philadelphia sends about $1.3 billion to Harrisburg and gets back $2.4 billion. This is based on listed major sources of revenue and expenditure, but since it is not all sources, the result is not 100 percent accurate, but it's in the ballpark.

I'm not saying that with Philly's large population and our problems, we shouldn't get more than what goes to a county with more black bears than people. But we ought to understand that how much we get, and how we spend it, our behavior and our fabled addytude, gives "out there" a sour feeling about Philadelphia that may be off-base, but is not "irrational."

E-mail stubyko@phillynews.com or call 215-854-5977. For recent columns:

http://go.philly.com/byko.