[PRCo] Re: Fayette County Economy

[Fred Schneider]

And when you do look up those effective rates, remember something else.   No
sales tax in Pennsylvania before the 1950s.  No state and local income taxes
before the 1960s.  Schools required one teacher for every 40 kids instead of
every 20; principals were teachers doing an extra chore, and there were no staff
attorneys, school bus drivers, sou chefs, etc.

The property taxes had to be lower too because he expect far less of our county
governments then. For example, we didn't expect them to run buses for the have
nots.  Or operate welfare programs.

"Edward H. Lybarger" wrote:

> Any economy dependent on extraction is doomed.  Western Pennsylvania got
> away with boom times for many years owing to the immense quantity of the
> extractive resource (coal) that made steel manufacture in the region
> advantageous.  Unfortunately, the steel companies' mentality of excluding
> employee input to the whole process resulted in a narrowly-focused workforce
> and an arrogant management.  Their heirs, both physically and
> intellectually, have tended to share that provinciality and continue a lot
> of the old thinking in times of change.  As a result, we have some of the
> worst local politicians you can imagine...while they don't have their hands
-- Trailing quotes stripped by Listar --