Jobs and violence (The Next Mayor)

Today, the Daily News published a special report on the links between job creation and successful anti-violence efforts.

The stats in the section alone are startling:

*40 percent — almost half — of people in Philadelphia older than 15 were out of work and not collecting unemployment, census data shows.

*Each year, more than 8,200 city public school students drop out -- enough people to pack the Palestra. Over their lifetimes they miss out on more than $2 billion in income.

*One estimate (that of former Councilman Ed Schwartz, to be exact) says that more than 40 percent of the city budget, or $1.3 billion, is spent responding to crime.

But the point of the section is to say that connecting even some of the disconnected, out-of-work youth in our city to real jobs could help lower crime rates.

It's pretty clearly directed at the business community, which seems to be responsive. They recently launched a call for local employers to create 1,000 paid internships for youth.

So we're not talking about the big issues that obviously have to change to build a region that gets its young people to work -- tax reform or school reform, for example. We're talking about the on-the-ground programs now getting some kids connected to better lives.

It's important to note that the current mayor seems to get this. He's been holding jobs fairs -- out of the Safer Streets initiative. He also created a new Mayor's Office for the Re-entry of Ex-offenders.

But there is so much more we could do. And the Would-be Mayors are starting to discuss this: Evans discusses jobs as one of the key points of the "Blueprint for a Safer Philadelphia" that underlays his crime and education plans. Fattah has supported career-training programs like those mentioned in the section. Nutter discusses "real alternatives" to crime in his "Safety Now" plan. Knox discusses "new job training and education programs" in his anti-crime plan. Brady called for "city smart enough to guarantee economic opportunity" in his kickoff speech.

It seems that an effort that united the next mayor with the business community toward this goal would be a powerful one.

Read the special report in our Jobs section -- and please share your thoughts here.

Comments (9)

Dave

I think this is a no-brainer, and it's why I support a candidate who plans to make the city more business friendly. It's also why I don't support candidates who propose nothing more than spending even more money responding to crime.

Posted by Dave | February 27, 2007 10:00 AM

Gtown_teach:

While I totally agree with the association with the relationship between joblessness and the street violence that plagues this city; I am deeply skeptical about the "solutions" mentioned. What we as philadelphians really need to do is understand that all of us hold our children's future. The parents of this city need to ramp up and focus on the education, and work ethic of their kids. Plain and simple. We've fallen into a very dangerous situation in regard to passing down work ethic to younger generations. They simply don't know how to work. They don't see the value of work, and they certainly don't want to change.

You don't need job opportunities to create work ethic. Why aren't parents demanding that the children clean up their side of the block? Why aren't the children cleaning up the house? Last time I looked, a broom was much less expensive than an Ipod, or a plasma TV. Why don't they clean up the parks that they play in? Nobody wants to hire someone that doesn't even know how to clean a sidewalk. Sidewalk crumbling? Get out there with your kid and do some cement repairs on saturday or sunday (portland cement is $3.00 a bag). Show your kid how to work! Instead of playing football in the street all day, and blathering on your cell phone. This guidance has to come from the parents, and not some community organization. Children identify with their parents more than anyone.

Posted by Gtown_teach | February 27, 2007 11:48 AM

People who care about this can participate in, or donate to, an organization like Amachi or ASAP. I have a good friend who's a "big sis" to an Amachi kid and I've been pretty amazed at the results I've seen. I've also donated to ASAP myself in the past.

http://www.amachimentoring.org
http://www.phillyasap.org/

Posted by Dave | February 27, 2007 3:01 PM

sj:

The connection between jobs and crime has been clear for a long time but unfortunately little has been done to improve the job outlook in Philly. The current mayor is against tax cuts but he doesnt propose any alternative means of increasing the city's business climate. He wants to give kids after school programs to keep them off the streets but does little to creat more jobs for their parents.

The city needs to develop a MASSIVE program to enlist the help of underemployed youth to clean up parks, do community improvement projects and clean up neighborhoods. Offer young people jobs that pay a little more than the average fast food place and put them to work a few hours a day doing necessary work in the neighborhoods. The parents in many cases are failures and thus the goverment has to try and get these kids engaged in saving their own city before they start filling up local jails or spend their lives standing around on corners.

Posted by sj | February 27, 2007 3:38 PM

Nutter suggested something similar in his sustainability plan. It would be modeled after the Chicago Conservation Corps.

http://www.nutter2007.com/images/uploads/Sustainability.pdf
http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/webportal/portalEntityHomeAction.do?entityName=Chicago+Conservation+Corps&entityNameEnumValue=174

Posted by Dave | February 27, 2007 3:50 PM

Tim:

Wait I'm totally confused I thought if we banned guns and had smaller classrooms all problems will be solved. This is the first time I am hearing an idea that actually would make sense but Unions and the facist Democrats will never allow these Republican ideas to be implemented. Democrats will continue to talk about the same things every election cycle and continue to watch mainly minority children die and live in poverty. Pro-Business ideas like tax-breaks and in general business friendly legislation would do wonders for so many aspects of the Philadelphia community but as I stated the mindless Democrats will continue doing what they are doing and obviously could care less that kids are dying in the street. It's is so much more complex than saying there are too many guns on the street. Wake up Philadelphians!!!

Posted by Tim | February 27, 2007 5:29 PM

I dont agree that no Dems believe in a lower tax burden. I think Rendell was very pro business and I would say that Knox and Nutter are also very much in favor of lowering taxes. To say that the city's problems exist solely because we havent tried enough Republican strategies is stupid. Republicans were the ones that set the bar so low in terms of corruption and inefficiency prior to 1951.

More jobs would be a huge plus but its hardly a magic bullet that will end poverty, rid the city of eyesore properties, improve the city's poor demographics, take guns off the streets, etc.

Posted by sj | February 28, 2007 11:29 AM

I hate the whole "Republican ideology" vs. "Democratic ideology" debate. Voters need to start taking a more intelligent approach and decide whether or not they think a certain strategy will work rather than asking themselves "does my party endorse this strategy"?

Our elected leaders work for us. We pay them. During an elected, we need to start acting like we're interviewing job candidates and choose one based on whether we think they'll be best at doing the job. If they get elected and don't do the job. We should "fire" them.

I registered with a party (Democrat, in this case) because I want to have a say in the mayoral and city council election this year. I see nothing wrong with registering with a party if it benefits me as a voter. However, I think people who start to identify too strongly with a party tend to give anyone who is perceived to represent that party too much credit, and even mold reality to fit their party/candidate rather than judging those candidates based on reality. In this sense, I feel that many voters have turned the tables on themselves and started working for the government (for free) rather than the government working for them.

Ok, I'm done ranting.

Posted by Dave | February 28, 2007 2:22 PM

I didn't mean to give the impression of Republican vs. Democrate but lets be real, Philadelphia votes Democrat every single election cycle. My frustratation lies in the FACT that a HUGE majority or people in Philadelphia vote D and it frustates me because the problems continue to get worse and nothing changes. I just don't understand the mentality\hypricisy for the extreme hatred to George W. Bush because things are not improving in Iraq and soldiers are dying but the same condition is occuring in Philadelphia (murder rate is so HIGH and major corruption issues, etc) and people continue vote to the same party. I just wish there were the same standards to all politicians regardless on party affiliation. It's is so sad that people have been brainwashes to think that if your a conversative your evil and a racist but democrates control Philadelphia and minorities are dying in high numbers and things are certainly not improving.

Posted by Tim | March 1, 2007 11:53 AM

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