Despite budget shortfalls, city funds wasted

Pittsburgh’s financial woes have been the talk of the town for months. The city’s money… Pittsburgh’s financial woes have been the talk of the town for months. The city’s money problems are numerous, and so are the proposed cures. So far, the most hyped solution has been Mayor Tom Murphy’s proposed 10-percent alcohol tax. The tax has drawn fire from all over, with many people – college students certainly included – insisting there must be a better way. The most obvious method includes the city making better use of funds it already has.

On Tuesday, local bar owners came together to plan a poster and petition drive. Angered by the impending alcohol tax and convinced it will drive away business, about two dozen bar owners convened – with support from the Pennsylvania Tavern Association and Anheuser-Busch – to raise public awareness and convince the state legislature to oppose the tax.

Also on Tuesday, Murphy – who wants to tax alcohol and risk driving away restaurant patrons to generate badly needed funds – proposed legislation to spend $100,000 to develop three ultimate Frisbee fields in Highland Park.

Then on Wednesday, while bar and restaurant owners were continuing with their campaign, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the city of Pittsburgh is now the proud owner of a $250,000 pay toilet.

It says very little for this city that restaurant and bar owners are scrambling to protect their livelihood from “necessary” taxes while the city is dropping $350,000 on empty fields and a coin-operated can.

Murphy’s field proposition amounts to an open invitation for disdain. Ultimate frisbee, which has gained popularity largely because of attention it received on college lawns, can be played on just about any open surface, from the Cathedral lawn to a soccer field. Fine-tuned ultimate frisbee fields are completely unnecessary. Murphy believes the proposed fields will appeal to Pittsburgh’s young people but, in reality, inexpensive night life – tax-free booze – is much more alluring.

The $250,000 toilet is absurd, especially since it’s located on Carson Street in the South Side. First bar patrons will be taxed to drink, and then they will be charged to drain. At least they would, if they used the pay toilet, which they won’t, since free bar bathrooms and dimly-lit back alleys are much more inviting. At a going rate of 25 cents per use, the pay toilet must be visited 10,000,000 times before it pays for itself, but that certainly won’t happen once people are forced to pay tax on their shots.

When business owners are suffering, the light rail system is incomplete, the Penguins need a new arena and all the daily expenses of running a city are taken into consideration, one has to wonder why tax dollars are going toward such useless projects.