Hidden tax! Hidden tax!

Where are the right wing nut jobs when it is time to complain about hidden taxes that subsidize private profit? The city spends over 190 million dollars a year managing parking. Parking management is necessary because there are too many cars. This creates parking hell, which then must managed through taxes--an externality of the industries that profit from the auto system--the oil industry, the auto industry, the coal industry, and the sprawl industry, to name a few. This money is collected by way of tickets, mostly. Parking tickets are a tax on delivery companies and messengers. These taxes hurt business!

 tax collection

expensive equipment to manage parking

Here is an idea. Take the 190 million and make public transit fare-free. Then the delivery companies and small businesses can have some room to work.

Imagine there's no cars... wonder if you can

Street resurfacing. If there were no cars, every other street could be a park. A lot of money would be saved.

SEPTA | Sustainability | Farm-to-SEPTA Enters its Second Season

SEPTA | Sustainability | Farm-to-SEPTA Enters its Second Season: "When SEPTA included a commitment to access to local food via transit as a goal under its Sustainability Program Plan, it didn't realize how much momentum and new partnerships the goal would create both within the organization and in the communities it serves. To quote James Beard: "Food is our common ground, a universal experience." This has most certainly been the case as SEPTA moves into its second season of its Farm-to-SEPTA initiative.
The initiative includes two programs:
1) An employer-hosted CSA program, and
2) Farmers markets at SEPTA stations."

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Not enough water for fracking

The Drought of 2012 Teaches Us About the Value of Water: "On June 28, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission suspended 37 separately approved water withdrawals for fracking due to localized streamflow levels dropping throughout the Susquehanna Basin in Pennsylvania and New York."

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Verizon workers say "WTF?" "Where's the fairness" #1u #ows

Workers Stand for America Rally | District 2-13 | Communications Workers of America: "Event begins Aug 11, 2012

Location: Eakins Oval on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA

Rally begins at 11:00 AM at Eakins Oval.

The program will include speakers and musical entertainment.

Let's send a message that we need an America that works for everyone!

For more information, please click on the link below (PDF):

http://cwafiles.org/District2-13/rally_flyer_2012aug11.pdf"

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How do oil trolls keep getting elected: propaganda, and now, vote suppression.

Protest rally sets stage for Pa. voter ID hearing - CBS News: "HARRISBURG, Pa. — Hundreds of demonstrators descended on Pennsylvania's Capitol to protest a tough new voter ID law, launching a daylong political drama that set the stage for a state court hearing on a lawsuit seeking to prevent the law from taking effect this year."

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Free public transit is the best path to a green city

If free transit were introduced smoothly, it would be a big success. The money lost in lost fares would be re-gained immediately by elimination of the costs of collecting fares, and by the lowering of the unit cost of each rider.

More buses would be needed. But the city spends $180 million a year now just managing parking. And just imagine how much more shoppers would be around on foot. Delivery trucks could get in and out quicker with fewer cars blocking them.

Here is how to implement. Reduce the SEPTA Transpass price by one dollar every month. Everyone would know what is coming and when.

Free transit works. Click here to see who has it now.

#occupy national gathering in Philadelphia #natgat

http://www.occupywallstreet.net/event/june-30-july-4-natgat

Gas & Oil Party destroying #publictransit

Why SEPTA is Heading for a Crash | Philadelphia City Paper | 06/21/2012: "Last year, SEPTA’s subways, trolleys, commuter rails and buses supplied nearly 334 million rides — its highest ridership in 22 years.

However, the nation’s sixth-largest transit system is not contemplating expanding services to meet the growing demand. Instead, Republican hostility in Washington and Harrisburg is pushing SEPTA and other public-transit agencies nationwide to the brink of fiscal — and physical — ruin."

FTA - News Releases - U.S. Department of Transportation Announces $10 Million TIGER Grant for New Rail Transportation Center in Delaware

FTA - News Releases - U.S. Department of Transportation Announces $10 Million TIGER Grant for New Rail Transportation Center in Delaware: "NEWARK, Del. – The U.S. Department of Transportation today announced a $10 million grant to build a new regional rail transportation center on the proposed University of Delaware Science and Technology campus. The project is one of 47 projects in 34 states and the District of Columbia selected to receive funding under the U.S. Department of Transportation’s highly competitive $500 million TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) 2012 program."

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Young People Are Driving Less—And Not Just Because They're Broke - News - GOOD

Young People Are Driving Less—And Not Just Because They're Broke - News - GOOD: "As a result of decades of car-oriented land use policy, private automobiles are a necessity for many Americans. Even most urban areas of the Sunbelt—Atlanta, Dallas, Phoenix, Los Angeles—are barely traversable by foot, bike or train. Despite this reality, Americans seem to be driving less and returning to cities with a diversity of transit options. (I’ve chosen Philadelphia: We still have trolleys!) Young people, especially, are waiting longer to buy cars, and we’re driving less once we get them. Are norms are changing, or is it just the tough economy? Business Insider posits a strong link between this data and the recession: As unemployment goes up, Americans drive less—because many of them suddenly don’t have work to drive to, or because they simply can’t afford to maintain a car."

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Walkshed Philadelphia | Personal and Precise Walkability Mapping

Walkshed Philadelphia | Personal and Precise Walkability Mapping: "Walkability means different things to different people. Empty nesters may enjoy being near a wide variety of restaurants and theaters. Runners and families might prefer easy access to parks and playgrounds. Young professionals and students may like the nightlife in certain neighborhoods. All of these people love and value walkability, but they all have different preferences that shape it.

Using Azavea’s DecisionTree calculation engine, Walkshed is able to dynamically account for each person’s preferences "

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