Philly's mobs win again

Once again, the unions shoot Philly in the foot:

"We've decided not to shoot The Real World in Philadelphia. That's final. Our stuff is not in Philadelphia," said a spokeswoman for the television production company that had been setting up in Old City but left rather than deal with city construction unions.

"Really, we are very disappointed, but we've moved on," said Daniella Cracknell of Bunim/Murray Productions in Van Nuys, Calif.

Construction union officials said they had offered Bunim/Murray a deal to keep the production here, but whether any union offer would have saved the shoot remained questionable yesterday.

I hate The Real World. All I see is a group of self-centered, untalented American Idol wannabes annoying each other while trying to act cool.

But the point is clear: not even the glitz of TV can make Philly look like a hip place to be as long as the unions really call the shots in the city.

Good old Philly: you just won one for the fat union slobs everywhere who would rather extort than compete.

The drain of tech workers from the city will continue. Your tax base will shrink, and your problems will become more acute.

Is it any wonder when it costs 50% more to build a house in Philly than it does in the suburbs?

In the suburbs, the taxes are lower, the schools are better, the neighborhoods are safer, union rules are lax and business thrives.

The quality of life - for everyone - is better as a result.

Only an ideology-blinded Democrat could fail to make the connection.

Hey, here's one:

The loss of a visit from the popular Real World television show might not seem like a big deal to Mayor Street and some labor leaders in this city. The mayor suggests the city is just fine without MTV's gift of positive, internationally distributed exposure.

- posted by total @ 3/18/2004 07:51:00 AM .