Whoa! Stop the truck right there, Mr. Magill.
First you are claiming the Keystone Opportunity Zone of 17th & JFK, which
they are NOT claiming as "blighted", they are calling it an OPPORTUNITY to
enhance the area because of a vacant lot. Almost any neighborhood would be
enhanced by removing a vacant lot to an owner-occupied lot. (depending on
the actual tenant, of course- but usually it's better)
No, by definition, a KOZ requires that an area be declared blighted before it can be designated -- "an opportunity." (The fact of the matter is, any vacant lot or unoccupied building is, also by definition, considered "blighted," but legally declaring it such is considered "bad form" in the middle of your highest priced real estate in the Region. ... one eagerly awaits the KOZ declaration for the parcel at 15th and Market.)
[I hope you don't want us to believe that, just for asking, public monies can be acquired to simply develop "any vacant lot."]
Yes, the spin-meisters call it an "opportunity," that's why it's called an "opportunity zone." But that does not change the fact that the area has to be "suffering" before it can be declared an "opportunity."
Yes, but to get the vacant lot they had to tear down the hotel that was there and put all of its employees out of work and then sit on the property for something like 10 years ... and that was just on half of the block.
This Keystone Opportunity Zone has "Since its inception in 1999, nearly
14,000 new jobs have been created, almost 8,000 jobs retained and over $1.5
billion invested in real estate as capital improvements". That's a lot in
just 5 short years.
Yeah, 14,000 jobs ACROSS THE ENTIRE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA in 5 years -- that's success?
How many jobs are we talking about retaining here -- we're going to move Comcast from Delaware Avenue to 17th and JFK, and according to the billboards on the site, house a whole bunch of people in Luxury Condominiums. Net job gain zero. Net job retention zero. Unlike the food distribution center, not only did Comcast have no offers to move someplace else, but Roberts has repeatedly stated that he would never consider moving from Philadelphia. (Moving out of Phila would really slam Comcast's bottom line. Because he would have to start all all over again buying politicians.)
And don't forget, these latest KOZ declarations are all Fast Eddie's doing -- the Mayor is especially opposed to the last two and has not supported them.
The simple fact of the matter is -- NONE of these KOZ projects (or the Stadiums for that matter) are either economically feasible or economically sustainable WITHOUT public subsidies. Hell, if this were a Republican administration pulling these games, everybody would be screaming bloody murder about Corporate Welfare, but since it's the Democrats doing it -- They're Opportunities!
Sorry, but Pork is Pork.
And you almost had me with you analogies of profit organizations, real
estate mortgages versus bank mortgages, but left me completely clueless with
auto dealers. Not to offend anyone who is any of these, but I feel car
dealers (in general) are sleazy people. They beg you to buy a car you can't
afford or don't even like, are really nosey about your financial background,
and all this before they even know your name. Now, I'm not saying there
aren't any nice ones out there, just an overall feeling I get when I try to
buy a vehicle.
That was my whole point -- you know the Car Salesman is a sleeze.
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