The state Senate reconvened Monday, and the Pittsburgh plan -- Mayor Tom Murphy's plea to pull his chestnuts from the fire -- is barely on the radar.
New taxes for Pittsburgh aimed at suburbanites are on hold. Are lawmakers trying to punish the city facing a $60 million deficit⢠Murphy and City Council are Democrats and the Legislature is controlled by Republicans. Could that explain part of itâ¢
It could, but Democrat Sen. Jack Wagner of Beechview doesn't think Murphy and company have tightened the city's belt. In short, he doesn't believe Murphy's sincerity about instituting fiscal discipline.
Who could?
A fiscal crisis doesn't develop overnight. The Trib has been reporting for years this was coming, and Murphy despises us for it; the truth is inconsistent with his "vision" -- political survival at any cost.
Murphy's vision, for example, concluded a contract with the featherbedded fire department intended to guarantee his re-election, a fire department protected from layoffs.
Since 1990, the number of people working in the city has declined by 12 percent to 275,000. Given the chance, a lot of people would rather work someplace else, including city residents.
And that isn't because we've been picking on poor, put-upon Tom Murphy and his rubber-stamp City Council. It's because he and his party have failed -- spectacularly.
Pittsburgh can't afford Tom Murphy for another day. If taxpayers give him the money, he'll just do it again.
