USE THE CITY’S BAD SUMMER AS A SPRINGBOARD FOR ACTION

         The City of Washington has not had a good summer.  The national media has focused on a small community’s inexplicable spike in heroin overdoses and increased crime.  The City Mission experienced a depilating fire.  A little known web site (roadsnacks.net) has captured our attention by crowning Washington the most redneck city in Pennsylvania.  This was based on the High School graduation rate, the number of dive bars, tobacco and gun stores, mobile home parks and Waffle House restaurants, among other factors. Even an attempt to “redd-up” a vacant lot and make it into an art filled Parklet backfired and was not to be.

         This is not the time for City residents to shurge their shoulders in defeat or for County residents to nod their heads in agreement with the City’s plight.  This is the time to stand up and take action.

         It is my humble opinion that lifelong residents of our community are myopic and cannot see the forest through the trees.  I have lived in the idyllic bedroom communities of Hunterdon County New Jersey, Swarthmore Pennsylvania and Fox Chapel Pennsylvania.  None provided the outstanding standard of living available in my adopted home town of East Washington Pennsylvania.  Let me count the ways.

         Housing costs and property taxes are so favorable, particularly within the City, that I shout the praises of Washington as a place to retire at every opportunity.  The benefits of a major metropolitan area and airport are minutes away.  Washington sits at the intersection of two major interstates which have attracted a minor league baseball franchise, Casino, first class wellness center, unlimited dining choices, traditional and discount shopping venues and a volunteer symphony.  An exceptional Hospital, thriving daily newspaper, small Liberal Arts College, beautiful park, farmers’ market and numerous places of worship are situated within the City’s borders.  Public transportation has been vastly improved.  The County as a whole is at the center of America’s new energy boom which will provide economic opportunity for decades to come.  Lastly, a community of hard working friendly people are employed in local government and in the retail outlets and professional offices.

         I can assure you that community leaders throughout the Country would love to have the opportunities available in our area with which to plan and revitalize a small American city.  There are certainly problems that must be addressed including widespread drug use and the crime it fosters, poverty, minority unemployment and a shrinking tax base.  So what is to be done?

         First, the fruits of economic development, evident throughout the County must be utilized in reviving the City.  It is simply not fair for the County to continue to use the City as a dumping ground for all of its unpleasant but necessary social services, governmental and low income needs, without making the renaissance of the City its first priority.

         Second, non City residents must recognize the benefits the City provides to the rest of the County and be willing to help pay for this privilege.  This can be accomplished through a County wide taxing scheme that does not go to the City’s general fund, but is earmarked only for City redevelopment.  The County must be an equal partner in choosing and implementing projects in return for raising the funds.

         Third, the County must begin a major campaign to attract small retailers and retired individuals looking for a place to settle apart from the expensive northeast corridor and even from the burden of Allegheny County taxes.  There are many who prefer to settle in a low cost area that offers a change of seasons with quick access to an interstate and an airport.  The City business district is an excellent location to build garden apartment style retirement housing, interspersed with specialty retail shops.

         Fourth, renovation plans must not leave behind our City’s citizens in most need of assistance.  While our small City school system is a dying breed in public education, it performs remarkably well given the number of low income and academically challenged students.  Give educators the resources they need to improve test scores, graduation results and post secondary school placement.

         Lastly, bring meaningful job training programs into the City to address the unemployment and underemployment in a County of plentiful jobs.  There is no reason that jobs related to the energy boom should not be filled with local well trained students as opposed to “out of towners”. Give energy companies tax credits to do the training and hiring.

         This is not the time for Washington Officials to become insular, defensive or to point fingers.  It is time to be bold and think outside the box.  It is their responsibility to do so and the rewards will be great. Thankfully resources are available to make this happen. While some new programs may fail, others will not and the City will become a better place.

         

THE DONALD HOLDS A TEA PARTY

         Many of us were wrong about the Tea Party for the same reasons we are now wrong about Donald Trump. While both initially appeared as simplistic distractions, dedicated to Obama baiting after the 2008 election, Trump and the Tea Party have evolved.  Dismissing their brand of conservative populism as a passing fad of misplaced anger and below the surface racism was a mistake. It is time to grudgingly acknowledge the staying power of a political movement that is not going away any time soon.

         The Tea Party web site now lists 15 non-negotiable core beliefs as the center of its platform.  At the top of the list are: “Illegal aliens are here illegally” and “pro domestic employment is indispensable.”  It is no coincidence that Trump’s stump speech makes these positions the focus of his campaign.

         Both progressives on the left and now, Tea Party members on the right, seek to replace the status quo.  The difference is that progressives are advocating for others, less fortunate, while tea party conservatives are advocating for themselves, with a personal all or nothing mentality.

          Progressives, to their credit and largely explaining their marginalization in modern politics, are pragmatic and willing to see the big picture.  When the debating is over, inside the voting booth, they will soften their positions and accept incremental change from moderate democrats over the republican alternative.  The number of progressives willing to follow Senator Bernie Sanders down the rabbit hole into an election disaster like the 1968 George McGovern campaign are few.

         On the other hand, Tea Party adherents demand representatives who will support their views, without compromise.  While their ideological take on the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights does not stand up to a fair and impartial critique, it feels right to them and that is all that matters.  The election of a moderate republican is ridiculed with the same contempt as the election of a moderate democrat.

         Once it is understood that the Tea Party views any politician willing to change a position to get elected or to compromise a position after elected as unacceptable, the love affair with Trump begins to make sense.  Today’s Tea Party would not support Ronald Reagan who made legendary concessions to Tip O’Neil, the democratic Speaker of the House, to responsibly run the government.  It will support Trump because he has remained consistent on oddball issues like Obama’s birth certificate and he attacks immigration, political correctness, the media and moderate Republicans without mercy.

         Donald Trump has staying power with the Tea Party because his firebrand pronouncements are delivered with unfiltered certainty.  For the Tea Party this is exactly the mouth piece they have longed for and Trump knows it.  He has discovered the one audience that thrives on his take no prisoners, shoot from the hip brand of politics.

         Over time, the Donald may not be able to develop a viable campaign organization or articulate policy positions acceptable to the Tea Party base. In this case, Senator Ted Cruz will be right behind him to pick up the Tea Party flag and carry on. No one but Trump could make Cruz appear to be the more mainstream candidate.

         A self centered populist political movement, threatening a tall fence and wielding a sledge hammer rather than an inclusive umbrella cannot win a national election.     But the Tea Party, with either Trump or Cruz as its candidate, will smash tables full of traditional china, in the primaries and beyond.