Death & taxes in Philadelphia

IT WAS THAT most famous Philadelphian, Benjamin Franklin, who in 1789 wrote, "in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." Ironically - within the span of one week - Philadelphia recently found out that it takes first place in both categories.

Even while the murder rates of other big cities are falling, Philadelphia has the highest rate of any big city in the country, with the highest rates in the parts of the city with the lowest incomes.

And Philadelphia has the highest total tax burden of any big city in the country - again, with the highest tax rates falling on those with the lowest income.

Franklin's wit aside, is there a connection between these two dubious distinctions?

Brett Mandel, head of Philadelphia Forward, a citizen organization originally founded to push for tax reform in the city, thinks there is. According to Mandel, "the full implementation of the Tax Reform Commission's recommendations would mean . . . 47,000 jobs for Philadelphia."

He thinks the city's high and unfair tax structure hurts our ability to attract and keep employers who might otherwise be able to offer jobs to city residents.

He may be right. A Jan. 14 article in the Inquirer described how Washington dramatically lowered its murder rate (down 13 percent last year alone) in large part through a robust local economy. Driven by job creation, incomes are up and poverty is down. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the District has about 80,000 more jobs than it did in 1998, and the region has about 500,000 more.

The District's homicide total last year was the lowest in 21 years, second-lowest in 40 years, and nearly two-thirds lower than the all-time high of 482 in 1991 during the crack epidemic.

During the time Mayor Street has been in office, Philadelphia has lost about 36,000 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And since 2003, the number of murders in Philadelphia has been spiking - 380 in 2005, and 406 in 2006. It's already higher this year than last.

Plus, according to a study commissioned by the Pew Charitable Trusts, the city also ranks high in other depressing statistics related to poverty and lack of economic opportunity. A quarter of the city's population lives below the poverty line, including 36 percent of the children.

More than half of households with children have only one parent present. The high-school graduation rate is a mere 55 percent. Only 75 percent of our residents 25 or older have high-school diplomas, while only 20 percent of those have college degrees. The only way to see anything positive is by comparing us to Detroit.

The result is that, in the areas of the city where poverty is most concentrated, the lack of resources, legitimate economic opportunity and any hope for a future have given rise to a thriving underground and illegal economy of hustling, crime and drugs.

The city has steadily lost jobs and economic opportunity since the '50s, and it's as if people have just given up on the prospect of economic revitalization via the legitimate routes of education, entrepreneurship and job growth.

Of course, there are no easy answers to the complex social and economic issues plaguing Philadelphia, and with so many interacting factors to account for, I'm not entirely sure about a direct correlation between an unreasonably high local tax burden and unforgivably high murder rate.

BUT STILL, IF A strong and robust local economy can help lower the murder rate in Washington, shouldn't we also be doing more to head in that same direction?

And if lowering the tax burden here will ultimately help attract jobs and economic opportunity, shouldn't we be more willing to embrace the idea? As it stands now, the only things that seem to be certain are death and taxes. *

Robert S. Nix is a government relations consultant. He also serves on the board of Philadelphia Forward. This first appeared in Al Dia. E-mail

robertnix@phoenixstrategiesllc.com.