A Pennsylvania “Green” Idea NJ Should Embrace

Discussion about economic competition with our Pennsylvania neighbors invariably devolves into the mindless corporate talking points: NJ must become more business friendly by cutting taxes and environmental regulations in order to compete. (See: “The Dystopia Conservatives Built”:

Choosing life, by contrast, means doing what Colorado’s governor and state legislature are doing by temporarily suspending corporate tax exemptions and raising revenue for job-sustaining schools and infrastructure. Even more dramatically, it means doing what voters in Oregon did last week.

As deficits threatened their education and public health systems, Oregonians confronted two ballot initiatives—one modestly raising taxes on annual income above $250,000, another hiking the state’s $10 minimum corporate income tax.

Despite these measures exempting 97 percent of taxpayers, conservatives waged a vicious opposition campaign, trotting out billionaire Nike CEO Phil Knight as their celebrity spokesperson. But this time, the right’s greed-is-good mantra failed. In a swing state that had killed every similar initiative since the 1930s, voters backed the tax increases—and chose economic life.

So, if we buy the corporate line, how is it that our Pennsylvania neighbors in Philadelphia are going in the right direction, by imposing stiff fees on stormwater pollution?

That’s a wonderful Pennsylvania idea NJ should compete with and embrace – and not only for stormwater, but for consumption of drinking water (S457) as well – and most importantly, for carbon to address global warming.

As superbly reported by Sandy Bauers in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer (here’s the intro, but click on headline and please read the whole story). :

A “green” city plan to reduce stormwater runoff

By Sandy Bauers

Inquirer Staff Writer

Storm water is nasty and dirty and can cause flooding. So the sooner it gets off a property, the better.

But it’s about to become valuable stuff in Philadelphia. Businesses can make money by embracing it. Or face losing money if they let it go.

This week, the Water Department is sending notices to 79,000 commercial customers about a new billing structure for storm water that will begin in July.