The currently leadership of Philadelphia apparently has all their priorities straight. About as straight as a drunk trying to stay in the middle lane with .25 coursing through his veins. Apparently the scourge of the city these days is people walking around texting. Never mind armed robbers, flash mobs, and murderers. And definitely never mind there’s no such crime as texting while walking in Pennsylvania.
The only sad part about news like this is, if my current job prospects continue developing, I will soon be forking over an extra 3.5% of my income to the asylum wardens at Market and Broad. For the privilege, I don’t even get to vote against them.
Not much consolation, but you get to credit the Philly wage tax against your 1% (or so) township earned income tax so the net is only 2.5% out of pocket.
Driving while texting I can understand, but WALKING?!?!?!
Yeah… I figured that out, and I also believe it’s deductible from federal taxes and state taxes, so it ends up even less. Plus, my transportation cost into the city is a lot less than my previous commute, which was 55 miles a day, plus turnpike tolls. It kind of evens out in the end.
My lead for that job, which is the farthest along so far, is going to be at least a 20% pay cut. That hurts worse than the taxes. Obviously I’d rather not take a cut, my previous salary represented my value to my specific employer, because of what I knew, and because they needed to keep me through a lot of instability.
This is a move to an entirely different industry and environment, and I have to admit that even with a 20% pay cut, it still pays more than the dole check from the state. The question in my mind is whether it makes sense to hold out for a job at my current salary, which may never come, or take one that I think I’d like, albeit at lower pay. I tend to think the damage caused by longer term unemployment will be higher. If I get this job, my severance basically turns into a bonus.
The last time I was in Filfthadelphia, I saw people on the streets who I do not want to walk over me because they are walking while texting! And while they are at, they should start passing laws about personal grooming, too! Especially since they have the bigger problems so nicely sorted out.
If you ticket me for disrespectful walking, do I not bleed petty cash to fill up your civic coffers?
Oh, and as of today, our homicide count is at 178. But yeah, the mayor wants us to ticket text walkers. Idiot.
Oh, thanks for the linkage, Sebastian!
As the city solons are unable to do anything about the big problems, they pick often on little ones to demonstrate they are “doing something”. Like Michelle the Float and her obesity jihad. This of course feeds the expansion of government reach and employment, to hire and feed the minders who have to look after compliance with the picayune.
Leaders focus and work on big stuff. Little minds are terrified of taking such things on, perhaps for the prospect of failure, that would be so damaging to psyche and appearance…or that they have no idea where to begin.
And there was a woman who could not walk and text at the same time who fell into a decorative fountain, I forget where, but, of course, it wasn’t her fault and she sued the city…don’t know the outcome.