Stephen Preston: The Morrill minority

The governor's race will be decided by next week's election, and my candidate has already conceded defeat. But I don't think that's any reason not to vote for him.

If you recognize the source of my column title -- "Welcome to the politics of joy and justice," a Ralph Nader quote from his presidential campaign rallies -- you won't be terribly surprised that I'm voting for Mike Morrill, the Green Party candidate.

Why vote for Morrill, when he's already proclaimed Ed Rendell the winner?

Because Morrill is the only candidate who not only denounces corporate welfare, but has actively fought against it.

There are lots of issues in this race, but the most important one to me is the use of taxpayer money to subsidize big corporations. It's so obviously wrong and so thoroughly unpopular, and yet so common from our elected officials. Both the major party candidates for governor have a poor record on the issue.

As mayor of Philadelphia, Ed Rendell, along with former Gov. Tom Ridge, was responsible for the Kvaerner shipbuilding fiasco. In 1997, the city, state and federal governments together spent over $400 million to rebuild and privatize the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, which had been closed by the Pentagon two years earlier. Kvaerner ASA was granted a contract to run the shipyard which did not actually require the company to spend anything on its construction.

In exchange, Kvaerner created 700 jobs, but by 2000 it had eliminated all but 200 of them. According to Auditor General Bob Casey Jr.'s audit, each job ended up costing the state $1 million. Two years after receiving the subsidy, Kvaerner announced it was leaving the shipbuilding business. Critics had said from the beginning that it was futile to spend millions on a dying industry.

Then there's the DisneyHole at 8th and Market. Rendell negotiated with Disney to build a theme park called DisneyQuest and arranged a $25 million tax break. The Philadelphia Parking Authority borrowed $48 million to buy adjacent parking lots. Disney pulled out after a couple months of construction, and now all that's left is a giant hole.

Taxpayers have been saddled with $10 million in expenses and nothing to show for it, according to Ken Dilanian of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Activist Albo Jeavons has proposed building a Museum of Corporate Welfare on the site, so citizens can learn just how much of their money is wasted on similar projects.

Mike Fisher's record is slightly better, but only because, as attorney general, he doesn't really have the power to give big subsidies to corporations. He has, however, promised to continue the Ridge-Schweiker corporate welfare policies.

Governors Ridge and Schweiker pushed hard for Edison Schools to get a consulting contract for a study on Philadelphia's school system without competitive bidding. The result of the study was predictable: Edison recommended that Edison Schools take over the whole system. Attorney General Fisher did not even bother to open an investigation into how the consulting contract was awarded, despite allegations of a conflict of interest.

I've written extensively on Edison in this space already, but suffice it to say that Edison has received millions of tax dollars in subsidies from the state. The fact that Edison continues to be on the brink of bankruptcy doesn't make these payments any less odious: sometimes corporate welfare just isn't enough, as the Kvaerner case shows.

Ridge also pushed for deregulation of the electric industry. While Pennsylvania's program has been touted as a success, at least in comparison to programs like California's, it still involves a good deal of corporate welfare. The state requires everyone to pay for the "stranded costs" of PECO's nuclear power plants, in exchange for rate caps.

So while there is nominal competition in the generation of electricity, PECO is always guaranteed to get its share. This state-mandated subsidy will cost ratepayers $5 billion over the next 12 years.

Rendell and Fisher's policies clearly act in the interest of the largest corporations. Their proposals for economic development in the state include a lot more of the same.

Rendell and Fisher seem to be nice guys. I like Rendell; I wish he were my uncle. He's easily one of the most charismatic guys I've ever seen. And while Fisher reminds me of the rather creepy Steve Forbes, his position as the underdog makes me sympathetic to him. But Mike Morrill is really the best man for the job.

For better or worse, this election has already been decided. So vote your conscience, and send a message. Vote with the Morrill minority.

Stephen Preston is a lecturer in Mathematics.

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