The Washington Salute
Rep. Tarik Khan April 28, 2025
by State Representative Tarik Khan
As submitted to East Falls Now, The Chestnut Hill Local and The Roxborough Review for publication
You can forgive Northwest Philadelphia residents if they feel they are getting a one-fingered salute from Washington.
Everyday costs have skyrocketed. Tariffs, which act like taxes on consumers, are driving up the cost of buying almost everything, from a cup of coffee and a chocolate donut to a car or a new home. Checking out at the supermarket or picking up a check at a restaurant has become as painful as looking at the stock market and your retirement savings.
The once-prosperous job market pool is now looking murky. Businesses are looking at layoffs and furloughs.
And massive cuts to federal programs, including layoffs plotted by billionaire Elon Musk, have been brutal.
Northwest Philadelphia residents have not been spared the massive Washington cuts intended to give millionaires and billionaires further tax cuts.
Working families in Northwest Philadelphia can be forgiven if they feel like they are getting the Washington salute.
Massive layoffs affect not only the workers at the VA office on Wissahickon Ave but also many of the tens of thousands of federal workers who live in Philadelphia. I've talked to many researchers working on life-saving work who have now lost their funding because their grants were pulled.
Support organizations have been targeted for cuts as well.
Unity Recovery, which is based in Roxborough and Manayunk, and helps people across our region battling substance use issues get jobs, sobriety, and mental health support, had to lay off two dozen workers last week due to approximately $1.4 million in Washington cuts. Those programs have stopped, meaning more homelessness, joblessness, and addiction in our community to come. Washington Salute.
Philabundance, which has an office in Roxborough, was robbed of $1.5 million of funding for its local food purchasing assistance program. Yes, they use that money to buy locally sourced goods like milk, fruits and vegetables, and meat to help struggling families. Double Washington salute.
And Share Food, which is based here in lower Northwest Philadelphia, lost that same $1.5 million for their version of that program—and another $6.5 million for their emergency food assistance program. That is $6.5 million in emergency food to literally ensure that local families in our community don't starve. Double Washington salute— plus a kick to the stomach.
On a state level, I am leading bills to increase Medicaid funding for recovery organizations like Unity and to increase allowable food donations to Philabundance and Share Food.
And as a community, we must be vocal about the impact of Washington policies on our local economy. If you are concerned about Washington, please get involved locally to express your concerns. You can contact the main U.S. House of Representatives number at 202-225-3121, and the Senate at 202-224-3121. You can also download the "5 calls app" on your phone, which makes it easy to call and even provides a script of what you can tell these officials' staff about various issues.
Because while we don’t care if Washington doesn’t like us, we don’t let one-fingered salutes in Northwest Philly go by without a response.