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Pittsburgh is a Two Party Town

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A local paper editorialized that there needs to be more Republicans on City ballots. This in a city that is overwhelmingly Democrat and has not elected a Republican to city council or mayor since the 1930s. That would seem to indicate that it is probably a waste of time to run as a Republican or even as an independent. The demographic mix of unionism, academics, and other pro democrat interest groups leads to a heavy majority of Democrat voters.
Over the past 60 years, the exodus of people from the city has almost certainly made the situation worse in terms of having a viable Republican candidate. The situation in surrounding counties is much different, especially in Butler and Westmoreland counties. Indeed, Republicans do well in many Pennsylvania counties that do not have a large core city.
Nonetheless, Pittsburgh can be described as having two parties. There are the Democrats currently in power in terms of controlling government, and the Democrats who want to take that power.
Look at the awful job they have done with schools and the city’s finances. But the voters seem to be happy. Possibly because the state provides almost half the funding for Pittsburgh public schools ($9,000 per student) even though the Pennsylvania Education Department’s aid ratios say it should receive $4,000 to $5,000 per student. Without all the fabulous educational, medical, cultural amenities in the City that are largely the result of enormous philanthropic generosity of people who built fortunes capable of funding the amenities, the City would not have been able to retain the businesses or jobs that it has been able to do.
How completely ironic that a city that has benefited so much from capitalism’s wealth production capability, has so little respect for capitalism and free markets.

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Allegheny Institute
Allegheny Institute

The Allegheny Institute is a non-profit research and education organization. Our mission is to defend the interests of taxpayers, citizens and businesses against an increasingly burdensome and intrusive government.

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