May 13, 1985 file photo by Tom Gralish w/Larry Eichel story: Smoke pours out over 6200 block of Osage Avenue as fire begins following police helicopter dropping a bomb onto roof of the MOVE house.
Remember your first inkling that Philadelphia was careening toward fiscal calamity, the type of wallet-drainer not imagined since Ed Rendell’s pom-poms distracted us from – among many cold realities – that pesky dance to monetize the “bombing a West Philly block” thing?
Mine arrived while reading a 2003 story that asserted nearly 3,500 city employees would soon ride off into the North Wildwood sunset with satchels holding up to $550,733 slung over their nouveau-riche shoulders. The Deferred Retirement Option Plan (aka Rendell’s smoothing over his “sorry, but necessary” billfold stare-down and John Street’s unwillingness to rankle potential re-election voters despite dire forecasts) abetted a civic-coffer binge purging some $461 million from our collective checking account.
What made that particularly special was that, at the time, the entire police department budget was $6 million lighter during a time when it should’ve been $60 million heavier. ’Twas a pot of gold (since-drained) which proved irresponsible labor-negotiation promises sure can take a bite when they grow up.
I’ve been thinking about that lately for a few reasons. The recession-aided “Ain’t me, it’s the economy” excuse for every proposed tax hike, service reduction and carry-on-bag fee. City-employee unionists asking an empty buffet for seconds, whining about their – wait for it – underfunded pensions. And how anybody with a brain cell and Casio knows Philadelphia will become Atlantis of the Delaware if the lingering loophole enabling, say, a managing director with two years of service to exit stage left with an annual $50K IOU applies to all if Council or the DROP-stopping Harrisburg can’t slam the vault-door quickly.
Granted, I’ve never been good at holding onto an earned dollar for a second longer than physically necessary, but I can appreciate New Jersey’s current crash diet as a necessary, if not over-reaching, lifestyle change. If you have $55.07, it’s patently offensive to spend $550,733 unless you have a guaranteed path to recoup $550,677.93 (plus a million in interest). It’s fifth-grade live-within-your-means life skills, not quantum economics.
So excuuuse me for not caring one iota about the hardships inherent in ever-rising interest rates seven years after my warning sirens were first triggered. If everybody from nations to selves didn’t overextended with Rendellian fervor, it wouldn’t have come to this in the first place.
Hate to be a recovering-economy spoilsport, but some lessons are best learned the hard way, Philadelphia. Here’s one of them: Greed wasn’t good after all.
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