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Archive for “Economy Troubles” news
Job Fair for Ex-Convicts Turns Into “Mad House”
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 5/17/2013
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Somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 people showed up at the Municipal Services Building this morning for a job fair catering to ex-criminal offenders. Unfortunately, the event quickly got out of hand, in part because people without criminal records were showing up too. Only 25 employers were there today. Last year, by contrast, 1,000 showed up, 435 of whom got jobs.
Said one job-seeker: "It was a mad house, unorganized, just mass confusion," adding that "at one point the crowd just dispersed and ran towards the door." Ultimately, police broke it up at 10:30 a.m., and very few managed to drop off
Does Citizens Bank Intentionally Profit From Customer Mistakes?
By Joel Mathis 5/14/2013
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In Chicago, a new lawsuit makes allegations that RBS Citizens Bank and its subsidiary, Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania, intentionally take advantange of customers when those customers make deposits with errors in the bank's favor.
Plaintiff Michael Stinson says the bank deliberately cheated him of his money in 2011:
Stinson says that "as an example of one of likely thousands of transactions, on January 31, 2011, plaintiff deposited a single check into his Citizens Bank account noting what he believed to be a deposit of $100.00. Plaintiff erred in its calculation; the actual deposit was $150.00. However, Citizens Bank credited plaintiff $100.00 and
New Report: Here’s How Much Tourism Impacted Philly Last Year
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 5/10/2013
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Eds, meds, and...tourism. That basically sums up Philly's 21st century economy. But how many tourists really show up? How much do they bring in? And who are they all? Well, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation has answers, courtesy of its annual report.
Since 1997, Philly's experienced a 45% growth in visitation. 38 million American tourists showed up last year, 12 million more than in '97.
89,000 regional jobs are supported by tourist dollars.
7 new hotels are currently being built.
$410 in annual taxes are saved by region households thanks to tourist dollars.
And here's the profile of Mr. Average Philadelphia tourist: He's 44,
Obama Administration Charges Harrisburg with Securities Fraud (aka Lying)
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 5/06/2013
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Remember the time we discovered that Harrisburg, in the words of Gawker, was a "broke-ass sinkhole of despair"? Today, the Securities and Exchange Commission has charged the city with Securities Fraud for covering up the utter putridity of its financial situation from the late aughts until 2011, when it went belly-up. This is the first time the SEC has ever charged a U.S. city for lying about its balance sheet. Harrisburg, perhaps seeking to minimize headlines like "Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Is a Broke-Ass Sinkhole of Despair" agreed to settle the charges ahead of time. For a what's what in the city's
This Is How Many People Corbett Has Kicked Off Food Stamps
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 5/03/2013
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A year ago, Pennsylvania instituted means-testing for food stamp applicants, in an effort to cut down on those age-old scourges, waste and fraud. Here's what they found: Since May 1, 2012, the program has denied 2,027 people who were already receiving aid, and rejected another 1,923 new applicants. In addition, 111,000 applicants were rejected for not filing proper paperwork, an increase of 17,000 since last year, raising concerns that red tape is denying people benefits. The asset test states that any under-60 household with fewer than $5,500 in assets (not counting house and car) cannot qualify. Over 60, that number
Tom Corbett Can’t Create Jobs Because You’re Getting High On Drugs
By Joel Mathis 4/30/2013
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On the heels of Monday's news that Pennsylvania's job-creation ranks 49th among the 50 states, Gov. Tom Corbett has responded with a play straight out of the Giant Book of GOP Clichés: He's blaming the hippies:
“There are many employers who say, look, we’re looking for people but we can’t find anybody that has passed a drug test, a lot of them,” Corbett told PAMatters.com. “And that’s a concern for me because we’re having a serious problem with that.” It’s at 3:40 in the video.
Hooray For Not Being Last! PA 49th in Job Growth
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 4/29/2013
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Things PA beats Wyoming at: JOBS! Compared to one year ago, Pennsylvania's job growth (several thousand jobs were actually lost) ranks 49th in the United States. Out of, you know, 50. Not to get political or anything here, Governor Corbett, but you know what really well-respected non-partisan think tanks said would result in 35,000 extra jobs by 2016? Approving Obamacare's Medicaid expansion. [PBJ]
Jim Cramer Taping “Mad Money” From Villanova Today
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 4/25/2013
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Morning Glory Diner booster Jim Cramer will be taping "Mad Money" shows from Villanova today. The tapings will last from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. today. (More information on what to do and, um, how to dress is here.) Wait, did someone say shows? As in, plural? As in, he tapes these things ahead of time? You mean the up-to-the-minute financial advice I'm getting from Cramer is really just last week's news? Just another reason to be skeptical of the gong-banging Wyndmoor native, perhaps... [Patch]
City Hall Plans To Issue $400 Million In Bonds. That’s A Lot.
By Joel Mathis 4/24/2013
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An article at Bloomberg makes more clear what city officials were doing last week in their closed-door meeting with prospective bondholders: The city wants to issue $400 million in new general obligation bonds—that is, add about $400 million in debt—in a nearly unprecedented move: "It would be the largest fixed-rate, long-term issue for the city since at least 1990," Bloomberg observes.
$218 million of that money would go to finance capital projects around town, but the remainder—$182 million—would go to "retire" old debts held by the city. Basically, it's a refinancing of the city's debt at a time when interest rates
Why is Mayor Nutter Auctioning Off Chunks of the City in Secret Meetings?
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 4/18/2013
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Over at the Comcast Center right now, Mayor Nutter is dressing the city up real nice and showing her off. Because Philadelphia, officially the brokest of the country's five biggest cities, is bringing in big-name institutional investors for a two-day conference to try to entice them to purchase municipal bonds and city-owned assets. More specifically, all I can tell you is that Mayor Nutter is speaking right about now, and there's a cocktail party at 5:30 p.m. Tomorrow, investors will go check out PHL and Gas Works, among other things. Press aren't allowed, Comcast VP David Cohen said, because that
