Asshole of the Week

In yet another stunning display of blatant disregard for the economic plight of his constituents, the City of Philadelphia, and the state of Pennsylvania, Republican Minority Whip Frank Rizzo, Jr. (son of the ex-mayor depicted in the statue at right) is the lone City Council member intending to accept his cost of living raise this year. Other members—wiser, more informed, more considerate members—are planning to give the money back to the general fund, or to various city charities. They're primarily doing so in order to show solidarity with union workers who are shit out of luck being asked to decline pay raises for 4 years.

Rizzo, on the other hand, doesn't give a fig about the union workers and believes things aren't so bad that he should have to turn down his COLA raise and live on his meager, (read: twice as high as the national average) income. When asked about it, Rizzo said:

I think I'm going to take it. If things got really bad, I think we'd have to reconsider. I don't think we're at the point that we have to play that game, because I think at this point it's a PR thing.

Newsflash: Things are that bad. As a City Council member, he should probably know that not only are the Philadelphia unions sacrificing, but state employees are slated to stop receiving their full paychecks for God-knows-how-long due to the state budget crisis. (We said "crisis", Rizzo. Look it up.) And while you're at it, get somebody to fill you in on how the financial well-being of the city of which you are employed is contingent upon the resolution of said state budget crisis.

It's not that we begrudge City Council members a cost of living increase. We'd like one, too. Except we're not getting one. Nobody is. That's the point. And since Franny Rizzo thinks it's plenty okay to accept to the raise because he hasn't received any calls or e-mails telling him not to take it, consider this one big public letter from us: Councilman, please kindly take your head out of your ass.

If you'd like to contact your local Asshole of the Week, dear readers, please feel free to do so here:

Frank Rizzo
City Hall, Room 582
Philadelphia, PA 19107-3290
Phone: (215) 686-3440
Fax: (215) 686-1929
Email: frank.rizzo@phila.gov

Image credit: Flickr user ann gav