It’s A Crime How We Budget To Address The Murder Rate In Philadelphia

“GIRL, 5 SHOT DEAD,” “Violent crime up in the city,” “HOW MANY MORE?” — the headlines are written in black and white, but the blood that spills on the streets of Philadelphia is a sickening red.  Citizens from every corner of the city are looking to City Hall for help stemming the tide of blood, but Philadelphia’s elected leaders seem unable to articulate a strategy to end this horrible epidemic of violence.

Murders and violence may seem disconnected from the city budget, but in the end, we turn to government for help and, ultimately, look to the city budget for resources to address our problems, whether it be murders in our neighborhoods or trash on our streets.  It is through the budget process that we determine how to use our scarce resources to improve life in Philadelphia. 

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