I am going to vote for Michael Nutter on November 6th, and he is going to win.

Despite the fact that he is not really a candidate anymore, and he already has my support, I do want to know more about how he thinks about the economic problems facing Philadelphia.

I have written about the future of Philadelphia’s economy here, here, here, and here and Nutter has demonstrated an intelligent response to many of the issues brought up in those conversations, He also comes to the General Election with the most equally balanced base of support in terms of race, ever.

However, no matter how good he is, or how good a job he does, or who supports him, his first few months in office will be challenging and I want to know what he is going to do to create a sustainable, local economy that benefits all of us.

Why?

Our city’s economy is in the midst of a major change that so far seems to be making quality of life worse for most of us. Our city has been through change before (think fight for independence, industrial revolution, the Great Depression, deindustrialization in the 1970s). In the past, the sheer size of these moments made it difficult for a local Mayor to do more than just react. However, the economic and cultural shifts we are experiencing now are different. An economy rooted in innovation, creativity, and service delivery (as opposed to industry, manufacturing, and concrete material products) is inherently more micro and local. Aided by the devolution of the role of federal government, there’s more power and responsibility in the hands of states and cities than ever before.

This big-pciture stuff has a particular and specific impact on us--young workers in Philadelphia. We are facing a really uncertain personal economic future. In the context of this very big framework, acknowledging Philadelphia itself can only do so much, I am curious to learn what Nutter will do, and more importantly how he thinks.

A few weeks back I wrote a post called “Back to Philadelphia’s Economic Future” that tries to describe what I am seeing emerge. I described an era in our nation and our world’s economic growth thathas yet to be named, but is characterized by increasing income inequity and poverty, rising violence. There I prescribed the formation of a plan for Philadelphia’s economy to help us navigate our way through this difficult era. I envisioned a detailed plan that could take advantage of the changes in our economy via local innovation, to take us to a new place of shared prosperity and increased opportunity. I talked to Dan about this in advance of my writing and he said:

I am not really a big fan of some huge master plan, because when you look back on master plans that cities have had before, they are really laughable in how stupid they are, or how out of time. I think what you are more talking about anyway is more like what I would consider a framework with a set of specific goals and outcomes.

Good point. Our economy and our city are too dynamic to make a plan that we must adhere to, but a framework, as Dan suggests, makes a lot of sense.

For instance, if you can prove to me that opening a new condo building with retail stores on the bottom will raise median wages, I’d support it. However, if you can show me that an investment in a green building trades apprentice program will ultimately raise median wages higher, than I’d rather prioritize that.

A framework (PHramework maybe?)—which might just start from a list of goals and ideas that are already out on the table—would help build a road map for local government practitioners to consult when they make any decision about municipal funding. If you are pushing green building, or increased CHIP funding, or affordable housing, or tax breaks, it should be obvious how any request to spend (or reduce the intake of revenue in the case of tax cuts) municipal funds will directly help to raise median wages or the reduce poverty.

What elements of a framework for Philadelphia's economic future can we all agree to?

Click "read more" below to see some ideas.