Mark Schweiker of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce says businesses are pivotal in anti-violence efforts and blames the media for missing it. William George of Health Partners says businesses don't do enough to make Philadelphia safer.
And so it goes. In the last couple of years, many horrific slayings in Philadelphia, a rising homicide rate and an intense debate over gun-control laws have led officials, residents and activists to scour the community for solutions. The city business establishment says it has joined in efforts to tighten gun laws and improve the job situation. That claim has been questioned by former Philadelphia Managing Director Phil Goldsmith and Inquirer columnist Monica Yant Kinney. We ran one of our unscientific, anecdotal online surveys on the topic. Most respondents indicated they think businesses need to focus on prospering and creating jobs, period.
Now we've conducted Q&As with two thoughtful leaders on the topic: Schweiker of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber, and George of Health Partners, a nonprofit health plan. These CEOs don't seem to disagree in substance as much as in tone and focus. Each insists they are not adversaries on the topic. In fact, their divergent approaches strike us more as complimentary than contradictory, maybe even the foundation for some new efforts.
Both Q&As are published below in full. Or you can jump straight to the Schweiker Q&A or the George Q&A. Shorter versions are appearing today and tomorrow in print, the old fashioned way, in The Inquirer's business section. Please, feel free to comment, pontificate or criticize (politely, please).
Mark Schweiker, chief executive of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, who served as Pennsylvania governor after fellow Republican Tom Ridge, says emphatically that businesses have been at the forefront of anti-violence and community-building efforts. Schweiker pointed out that Chamber-backed internship program placed 1,049 employer-paid interns at 138 workplaces last summer. He says businesses have sent hundreds of volunteers to work in community centers, hospices, even to help clean up Fairmount Park. And they provide roughly half of the city's operating budget for police and other services through business and employee taxes. Schweiker expounded on these efforts in a Q&A, below, with Thomas Ginsberg for PhillyInc.
PhillyInc: Do local businesses have a responsibility to help combat rising violence in Philadelphia?
Schweiker: Yes, and it’s more than just C.J.P., which stands for companies, jobs and paychecks. It's to provide help and business leadership with a heart. And I can tell you, whether it's our members or not, our hearts are about helping in ways that are fitting and appropriate and sustainable. There are some aspects of community and neighborhood safety that will forever be in the doman of government because of the police functions. We don't have that, and nobody should see that as a responsibility of business. But if it's anything from nursing and community building, to internships, to vests for police officers, to providing after-school reading programs, that is our responsibility.
PhillyInc: Some businesses say their responsibility is just to create jobs, period. Is that wrong?
Schweiker: Most business people, small and large, want to be successful in a business sense. But they’re also civic-minded, and where possible they will help. I saw some of the data and reactions on the poll, and remember that we have 5,000 members from Princeton to Wilmington, and only half are in the city - and I might add, the business start-rate in the city is abysmal. But our membership is civic-minded, by and large, and is trying to help. But they’re not going to carry a badge or carry a gun and are not expected to conduct crime-fighting. They help by helping our community ....
PhillyInc: What have businesses been doing to fulfill this responsibility?
Schweiker: There’s the Police Athletic League - supported by businesses. Big Brothers Big Sisters - supported by business. The Bridges job program - supported by business. Where would these programs be and the children and young adults be without the corporate support? ... The United Way gets large corporate support, among others. It's significant. Last year it was record-breaking. It raised $52 million, much through corporate support. I'm happy to compliment the folks at United Way. But it was also the folks writing the checks. ....
PhillyInc: What do you think of suggestions from people like Bill George that businesses ought to hire more people off the welfare roles, hire ex-convicts, maybe lobby harder for gun-control laws?
Schweiker: Our businesses do it everyday. The folks at Health Partners are just not conversant with the broad nature of our community-helping efforts. ... An offenders' program is being advanced right now by Councilman Goode with the backing of the likely next mayor Michael Nutter. We would like to be supportive, assuming its elements are advisable. But if I'm not mistaken, they cannot hire people with prison records under the law.
PhillyInc: So why try to get the law changed?
Schweiker: If you're talking about hiring, our organization is on the ground every week in Harrisburg working for legislative remedies that indirectly help the cause of creating opportunities for neighborhood kids and safety. I don't recall if Health Partners was around in 1999. But the one business group pushing the rule of one gun per month was the Greater Philadelphia Chamber. Our efforts often are directed at supporting sustainable programs. For example, I was in Harriburg in April and ... Ed Rendell asked me to represent the business community and talk about the need for pre-K education. I've always been repulsed that the compulsory [Pennsylvania school] age is 8 and not 6. For every dollar we spent in the K-to-3 range, the return to communities and society is $17. Because they see that society cares about them, these kids learn to read and perform in math, and go on to earn decent wages. There's a positive chain of events that are brought about by pre-K work, and that's the work of the Chamber. Our work goes on. We're not only pursuing enlightened pro-business policies. Without question we're working for pre-school children and pro-community policies.
PhillyInc: How do you respond to Phil Goldsmith's suggestion that the business establishment would do more if the violence was happening in Center City, not in predominantly black North Philly?
Schweiker: Ask the mayor. Ask City Council. We're talking about crime-fighting. That's a police function. How the city deploys its forces is not in our realm of work. How can one sector of the community be held responsible for criminal acts, wherever they may be? This organization was out working to restrict gun purchases and come up with more modern gun laws. ...
PhillyInc: What kind of support do businesses provide?
Schweiker: It’s almost half the $3.9 billion general fund that’s coming from everyday operations of businesses and their employees. Nobody is comforable with crime anywhere, whether it's Center City or West Philly or North Philly. Our members are interested in operating prosperous businesses. There is a connection between prosperity and the degree of crime. So left to their druthers, it [violence] would be ended tomorrow. But some of these questions are best left to the city government. Keep that in mind. When you look at wage taxes and business privilege taxes, it's a substantial amount. The critics ought to get past some of the easy conclusions and methodology and look at the real math in this case.
PhillyInc: What else have businesses done?
Schweiker: We immediately got into the question of the role and efforts of the business community in communuity affairs and social services. We didn't spent a lot of time on the economy-building front -- just the sheer number of jobs and paychecks provided in this region that mean stability amounts to the billions. Tens of billions of dollars. I can tell you the business community's zeal to market the region and create C.J.P. is demonstrated by the support for Select Greater Philadelphia -- that's 110 companies and $17 million they raised to promote economic development. They tell the story to a world and nation. That's significant. We're going to be moving into a second round [of fund-raising]. That's how you represent Philadelphia. ... So, regardless of where somebody lives, they have the opportunity to pursue a good job and a good paycheck. So it's not complete by just discussing the after-work efforts. There's an everyday capitalism factor in what we do, and that is significant.
PhillyInc: Why don't critics recognize all the business community is doing?
Schweiker: Media organizations are more interested in conflicts and inflaming, rather than informing, these days. The bigger strory of an army of volunteers with compassion and resources just is not sexy enough. Just doesn't make the headlines. So generally speaking, the story gets missed. I speak for a lot of people in the business community who feel they're the pin cushion. When City Hall seems to come off as ineffective in lowering the homicide rate, then observers and residents begin to flail an easy target -- the small or large business. It creates a sense of standoff, when it's the farthest thing from the truth. The truth is business leaders are out there everyday and every night offering reading instruction, driving an ailing senior citizen to a doctor appointment, doing all kinds of community things. That doesn't amount to headllines. It goes unreported. It's done in a less-than coordinated fashion -- this is the the U.S.A. -- it doesn't lend itself to easy-to-report efforts.
PhillyInc: Before suburban sprawl, the city was where most business people lived as well as worked. Now with sprawl, does Philadelphia lack a strong business-class elite with the city's interests at heart?
Schweiker: I don't see it that way. It's just collected and provided through different channels. Instead of being through the beneficient hands of a philanthropist, it's done throught the [government] system and companies. The commitment of time and resources is still substantial.
William George, chief executive of the nonprofit health plan Health Partners, a 22-year-old health plan serving more than 135,000 Philadelphia-area residents on Medicaid, says companies and business leaders should take more aggressive action to help address the problem that he says is about dollars and cents as much as morality. At the same time, he takes pains to say he is a loyal member of the Chamber of Commerce and believes businesses do deserve credit for their contributions. It’s just not enough.
PhillyInc: What do you say to business people who believe their responsibility to the community is to create jobs, not necessarily combat violence?
George: I cannot disagree with that more strenuously. It sounds like trickle-down or lassez-faire economics, like 'Don't worry, everything will get better in the end.' Businesses have a responsibility and should get involved.
PhillyInc: Why? What do they have at stake?
George: When you go around the country, people say, 'Gee, I read in the New York Times and national media that you’re Kiladelphia.' What do the hotels and restaurants say when Philadelphia magazine has on its cover a handgun? Why are you doing that? All you're going to do is hurt business. I do believe it's hurting business, it makes it difficult to fill positions. Now I'm looking to fill a position and people from outside are saying, 'Is it safe?'
PhillyInc: What else is at stake for business?
George: We're doing a lot of analysis and we share it with the Commonwealth. Health Partners serves 138,000 medicaid-assistance [recipients]. They are on the welfrare rolls. They are a fragile, needy group. Most live in North Philadelphia. We've done a statistical analysis and see how many times they reach out to see doctors. And we've prepared those statistics by zip code. And what we've found is that people living in areas with high crime rates are not going to the doctor and not getting prescriptions filled. They're staying at home. The streets are deserted. Not only are there no kids, but there no dogs and no cats. From a health-care perspective, it means health conditions are deteriorating wherever there are crime issues. And when they do go to the doctor, their underlying conditions are more severe. And that translates into higher premiums.
PhillyInc: Is this a moral or financial issue?
George: It's a dollar-and-cents issue, and a moral issue, that we have abandoned all of the victims of violence. As a health insurance company, we try to get nurses to go out and meet with members. ... But more and more of them are having difficulty getting nurses to do it in lots of neightborhoods because of the violence, particularly since two nurses in the last four months were severely attacked. One was almost beaten to death. ... One was our employee. ...
Even so, I think Philadelphia is getting a bum rap. When you look at crime statistics in Pennsylvania and convert them to per-100,000 people, you can compare crime rates. I looked at 14 cities using the Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Report 2005 data -- it was the last complete set. And I asked myself, for nine different types of crime, where does Philly stack up? Under violent crime, four cities have worse rates than we do. The point you get to is: for each crime, granted Philadelphia has an issue, but you look at the large and small cities, and crime is a statewide issue. My issue is that we cannot focus on it on Philadelphia alone because of the animosity expressed toward Philadelphia.
PhillyInc: What precisely should businesses do?
George: What they can do is, when they're hiring, they should try to hire people on medical assistance, or people who don't have jobs now. Most companies have training programs. Sixteen percent of people we bring in are off the welfare roles. We train them and give them money toward college, and others can do the same thing.
Others things they can do is have mentoring programs. It's beyond Take Your Daughter to Work. But you have to focus on high schools students where neither parent works. There are programs like the Bridges program, where companies can take in kids who don’t have acess to work. It's going out of the way. It has to be very controlled. But you actually reach out to these areas. You go to job fairs in North Philadelphia.
Another idea is that when people apply for jobs, look at the application. There's usually a question about prison record. At Health Partners we believe in redemption. We believe in a second chance. Granted, I don't hire convicted felons to work in my claims department. But there are jobs you can make available to people who have served time. Otherwise the odds are higher that they’ll be out there and commit another crime. I'm sure people's faces will get contorted when they hear these suggestions. But otherwise we're dooming people to failure.
PhillyInc: How has Health Partners fared with such hires?
George: We've generally had success with it. We've found the individuals are extremely grateful for the chance. And they're quite nervous and we have to give them a lot of training. But we've found we've hired a very loyal group and the turnover is quite low. ... The Commonwealth has taken notice and what they're thinking of doing is if businesses want to do business with Commonwealth, they have to commit to hiring people on medical asistance. They're thiniking about it. It's a budget issue.
PhillyInc: Should businesses help lobby for stronger gun-control laws just for Philadelphia?
George: It's highly controversial. I'll speak for msyelf on this one. I think it has to be a statewide issue, not just focused on Philadelphia. The crime involving guns is a statewide issue. Having said that, what guns do you need to go out and shoot a deer with? It's not unreasonable to have gun restrictions, waiting periods, or if somebody loses a gun they should be compelled to report it. So I believe in tougher gun laws statewide, not just in Philadelphia.
And yes, businesses should be pushing harder on this. Why not? It goes back to what responsibility you think you have. Most people say they don’t have a responsibility, and they take that [lack of] responsibility and apply it to all the issues.
PhillyInc: How do you respond to the notion that the business establishment would respond differently if more of the violence was happening in Center City, not in predominantly black North Philly?
George: Our offices are smack in the middle of Center City and a lot of the other companies are from the city. But what we suffered was one of our employees was shot after he took his brother to a bus stop [outside Center City]. They come to work and tell co-workers this is what happened. Not everybody who works in the city lives in Bryn Mawr. ... It's when somebody comes to work and says, 'I've lost sombody to gun violence,' and when they start recruiting and find people saying 'I don’t want to come to Philadelphia because it scares me,' or when the restaurants and hotels find people not coming, and when they hear about the ATM shooting. The hotels, along with the restaurant operators, should be getting more involved.
PhillyInc: Does Philadelphia lack a business-class elite with the city's interests at heart?
George: I don’t think it's as strong as it once was, or as cohesive as it once was with these large (business) families. ... Now there are a lot of competing inteersts and it's hard to get peple focused. You look at peoples' focus on issues like cancer and global warming, or the sale of a famous painting. It's so diverse and it gets people excited. Things were a lot simpler when the Clothiers were here. ...
PhillyInc: How have the business commmunity and City Hall been on the issue?
George: The city has done a great job in terms of mobilizing their interests. And they're acutely aware of the issues. I'm frankly disappointed with the level of support from businesses on this. When we marched the other day in support of Keystone Healthcare that had a nurse shot, the businesses involved were the nursing companies and some HMOs. But it was limited participation beyond that. … When I marched with Men United for a Better Philadelphia, nobody else was there. ...
PhillyInc: But businesses do help in their own way?
George: They feel it by giving to the United Way. That's a fine organization. But that's not enough.