PHOENIX VERSUS PHILADELPHIA
Today I head off with four other young Philadelphians to Phoenix, as part of a leadership exchange initiative of sorts. With Phoenix having recently passed Philadelphia as the nation’s fifth most populous city, we decided why not seize the opportunity for good PR and knowledge sharing? And so we’re off to the desert for a few days of connecting with political leaders and learning what Phoenix does well, while two weeks later the mayor of Phoenix will be in Philadelphia to do the same.
While I’m keeping an open mind to learning things that I hope we can implement here in Philadelphia, let me go on record prior to the trip and put forth my two reasons Phoenix is on its way up and Philadelphia down in terms of population – one which I don’t think we can do anything about, and one which we are trying desperately to do something about. First, Phoenix is growing because it has physical room to grow. It is now 565 square miles, up from 247 in 1970 and dwarfing Philadelphia’s 135. As more people have moved to Phoenix, the city has been able to stretch its boundaries to accommodate them within city limits. Philadelphia, on the other hand, is boxed in by natural boundaries and by suburban townships that would never dare be swallowed up by its urban neighbors and have to share its social services burden.
But that just explains why one city has room to grow and why one city doesn’t. It doesn’t explain why the numbers are going in different directions. This brings us to number two: taxes. While I don’t think taxes are the sole reason people and jobs leave Philadelphia, and nor do I think that tax reform will be the magic bullet that reverses a decades-long population decline, it is certainly the number one reason with a bang. Yep, I’m talking supply-side economics: all things being equal, residents and businesses will move to where the taxes are lowest. And so until we can make real tax reform happen, we’ll continue to slide in population. (Although if that means another leadership exchange to San Diego, currently at #7 in the US, then sign me up.)
Don’t get me wrong: there is no way I’m going to Phoenix, coming back, and telling my wife, “Honey, we just have to get out of Philly and move to Phoenix.” Philadelphia, in my opinion, runs circles around Phoenix in terms of quality of life. Who can compete with the historical significance, the cultural richness, and the cheese steaks “wit’ fried onions”? And yet we’re bleeding people because eager graduates and young families and the elderly are finding other places more attractive for their needs than Philadelphia. Phoenix may have a completely different situation than here, but hopefully we’ll gain some insights that we can implement here to stem the bleeding, turn around the tax base, and get our city going in the right direction again.
Today I head off with four other young Philadelphians to Phoenix, as part of a leadership exchange initiative of sorts. With Phoenix having recently passed Philadelphia as the nation’s fifth most populous city, we decided why not seize the opportunity for good PR and knowledge sharing? And so we’re off to the desert for a few days of connecting with political leaders and learning what Phoenix does well, while two weeks later the mayor of Phoenix will be in Philadelphia to do the same.
While I’m keeping an open mind to learning things that I hope we can implement here in Philadelphia, let me go on record prior to the trip and put forth my two reasons Phoenix is on its way up and Philadelphia down in terms of population – one which I don’t think we can do anything about, and one which we are trying desperately to do something about. First, Phoenix is growing because it has physical room to grow. It is now 565 square miles, up from 247 in 1970 and dwarfing Philadelphia’s 135. As more people have moved to Phoenix, the city has been able to stretch its boundaries to accommodate them within city limits. Philadelphia, on the other hand, is boxed in by natural boundaries and by suburban townships that would never dare be swallowed up by its urban neighbors and have to share its social services burden.
But that just explains why one city has room to grow and why one city doesn’t. It doesn’t explain why the numbers are going in different directions. This brings us to number two: taxes. While I don’t think taxes are the sole reason people and jobs leave Philadelphia, and nor do I think that tax reform will be the magic bullet that reverses a decades-long population decline, it is certainly the number one reason with a bang. Yep, I’m talking supply-side economics: all things being equal, residents and businesses will move to where the taxes are lowest. And so until we can make real tax reform happen, we’ll continue to slide in population. (Although if that means another leadership exchange to San Diego, currently at #7 in the US, then sign me up.)
Don’t get me wrong: there is no way I’m going to Phoenix, coming back, and telling my wife, “Honey, we just have to get out of Philly and move to Phoenix.” Philadelphia, in my opinion, runs circles around Phoenix in terms of quality of life. Who can compete with the historical significance, the cultural richness, and the cheese steaks “wit’ fried onions”? And yet we’re bleeding people because eager graduates and young families and the elderly are finding other places more attractive for their needs than Philadelphia. Phoenix may have a completely different situation than here, but hopefully we’ll gain some insights that we can implement here to stem the bleeding, turn around the tax base, and get our city going in the right direction again.
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