Should Allentown's NIZ Jobs Pay More?

Allentown arena authority divided over downtown wages
By Matt Assad Of The Morning Call

"... a battle is brewing over whether the city's arena zone authority should be using tax money to subsidize a higher minimum wage."One member of Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone Development Authority (ANIZDA), Alan Jennings, is for it. Sy Traub, ANIZDA's chairman, is a against the idea. My knee jerk reaction when I read this was to respond with clichés like 'socialism' and/or 'redistribution of wealth'. I decided against being mean spirited and instead will take a more restrained approach.


If It's Good For One, Why Not Everybody?
Being a child of the 50's and 60's it was drummed into our heads that we shouldn't bring candy to school if we didn't bring enough to share with everybody. While Alan's intentions may be well intended has he considered the small businesses in the 'West End Alliance'? How about the dozens of businesses driven out of the NIZ who were then forced to relocate elsewhere throughout the city?

Alan Jennings is the executive Director of the CACLV (Community Action Committee of Lehigh Valley). Part of the CACLV is The 'Community Action Development Corporation of Allentown' (CADCA). Under it's Allentown Neighborhood Development Alliance (ANDA) Neighborhood Partnership Program is the 'Seventh Street’s Main Street' initiative. Shouldn't these business along 7th street also get some of the candy too?


Give Me A Break... You Already Got One!
The developers in the NIZ already got a huge break on their financing. So much so that it was designed to undercut what another developer outside of the NIZ would have to charge per SqFt for renting to his/hers clients. This has sucked some of the current tax paying businesses located out of the NIZ into it. Taxes previously paid by those businesses will no longer go into Pennsylvania's coffers. Instead will be redirected into paying down the loans.

As a result two things are happing here
(1) Nearly $800 million in forgone tax revenues will have to be made up by the state taxpayers. This is so because nearly all these NIZ buildings will be occupied by businesses that already were in Pennsylvania. Not only will they no longer be paying to directly help fund the state budget, but the buildings where they came from (unless they can be refilled) will suffer tax loses to the state as well.

(2) Building and business owners in Allentown's NIZ have been given an opportunity to generate wider profit margins then they did previously. This is because rents for these businesses moving into the NIZ will be greatly reduced.

COMMENTARYIf people are really concerned about pay scales in the NIZ they should consider a couple of things. These businesses will now have a wider margin of profit to play with. If they want to pay more, let that be on them. NIZ employers who willingly pay more will enable themselves to select a better caliber of employee resulting from a larger pool of those applying for jobs. Taxpayers shouldn't be burdened even further by increasing the NIZ loans from 80% to 90% funding levels based on promises. Promises which can be manipulated by shrewd bean counters.

Allentown obviously has some powerful friends in Harrisburg or this NIZ wouldn't have happened in the first place. Use that leverage and encourage Harrisburg to raise the minimum wage for everybody if they are so concerned. Not just for the chosen few within the borders of NIZ. Allentown has already gamed an advantage over these other businesses. Why disadvantage them yet again when it comes to wages?

Finally There Is This
It's always been people apply for a job based on two things. Their ability and willingness to do a job for whatever amount of money the individual deems to be fair wages. If the job sucks, the employer is forced to pay more money. Poverty is not the fault of business when people willingly line up to apply. Neither should it be government's responsibility to run interference for labor's unwillingness to stand up for itself.

At one time people had enough gonads to stand their ground. If nobody shows up to take these jobs employers will up the ante. It disappoints me when people allow themselves to become victims then complain that government should do the dirty work of kicking employers asses for them. Or fall for the useless training programs with their faux promises that somehow they need to learn a better way of selling popcorn, swooshing toilets or changing bed sheets. Stop begging. Grow a set. Get some self-respect. Employers don't hire people out of the kindness of their hearts. It's a partnership not a handout. They need employees to make profit as much as does the employee to earn a living.

I don't know when it began, but today's workers have taken a stance they should be grateful and feel forevermore blessed if they should get hired. If people allow themselves to be beholden to government and their employers they have only themselves blame. Trading self worth by allowing dependence on others to resolve matters for them is weak and irresponsible. I wouldn't want to hire these kind of people. People I would want to hire are those who have self confidence. The kind who have the guts to take responsibly and aren't looking outside of themselves for easy outs.

These are the reasons why I cannot support Alan's initiative, no matter how well intended.