Infrastructure

Winners and Losers for the week ending August 10

For years, the statement “I’ll need to see some form of photo ID” has been part of everyday transactions in just about every segment of Americans’ lives. And for just as long, that seemingly simple request has presented an all-too-frequently insurmountable obstacle for all too many people in this country. 

For reasons that range from immigration status to lack of money, age to accessibility, untold numbers of those who need a valid form of government ID have been denied countless services, opportunities and aspects of life that are otherwise taken for granted by those with the proper credentials.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney is finally making good on one of his earliest stated priorities upon taking office: beginning next year, the City of Philadelphia will provide municipal identification cards. This basic but essential service will allow Philadelphians to immediately access basic facets of city life that would otherwise elude them, like food, medical care, treatment for drug addiction, and even access to office buildings for job interviews.

Kenney’s initiative puts the city on equal footing with a number of other municipalities across the country – including Chicago, San Francisco and New York City – that have taken their mandate of improving all of their citizens’ lives in manners great and small to heart. It is a simple, cost-effective – the program is estimated to cost somewhere just south of $600,000 – way to demonstrate that the quality of life for the less fortunate residents of a city is just as important as other demographic groups. (Studies have shown that the overwhelming majority of people lacking valid government-issued photo identification are from lower-income demographics.)

This initiative may not seem like a big deal compared to the constantly churning number of crises at local, state and federal levels that demand attention with every passing news cycle, but it is just the kind of action that can level the playing field for the people who need it most – those who not only believe in the American Dream, but who need the tools to achieve it.  

WINNERS

Scott Wagner: The GOP gubernatorial candidate got the good news this week that the Koch Brothers-backed Americans for Prosperity endorsed his campaign and will work to get him elected in November.

Appellate court justices: You would think that the state’s top elected official would also be its highest-paid employee. You would be wrong. The 30 Supreme, Superior and Commonwealth court judges, led by state Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Saylor’s $213,748, all make more than Gov. Tom Wolf’s $194,850.

Aaron Kaufer: The state rep from Luzerne County certainly had the most forward-thinking news item of the week, thanks to his announcement that he would introduce a resolution calling for a feasibility study on a Hyperloop transportation system – which is being championed by billionaires Elon Musk and Richard Branson – between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh that could conceivably shorten the travel time between the two cities to less than an hour.

 

LOSERS

Philadelphia Police Department: A City & State PA/Philadelphia Weekly special investigation revealed that civilian complaints against police officers for everything from physical abuse to theft to slapping a cheesesteak out of someone’s hand were rarely worth the time to even fill out. Based on the hundreds of complaints reviewed, investigations could take years and disciplinary action of any kind was sporadic at best – and could be overturned.

Laura Ingraham: “Don’t feed the trolls” is really the only way to deal with the dog-whistle specialists occupying certain corners of the media. But the conservative provocateur’s latest salvo on Fox News – decrying the changes that immigration has wrought upon the country and concluding that “it does seem like the America that we know and love doesn’t exist anymore” – is about as racist as it gets. Bonus points to her for calling Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney “a disgrace” for his continued support of sanctuary cities.

Tom Wolf: Flying in the face of a burgeoning movement to legalize recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania – including compelling revenue-based arguments from Auditor General Eugene DePasquale – Gov. Wolf dismissed the idea, saying,“I don't think the citizens of Pennsylvania are ready for it.” He did not elaborate on how Pennsylvanians’ readiness was deficient to that of citizens in the nine states, the nation’s capital and the numerous countries where it is legal.

WINNERS:
LOSERS:
X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.