PILOTs are Payments in Lieu of Taxes - tens of millions of dollars that universities owe to the city of Philadelphia. These universities - specifically Penn, Drexel, and Thomas Jefferson - are technically classified as non-profits, even though they own billions of dollars in endowments, investments, and property.
David Cohen, John Fry, and Stephen Klasko are three men who are single-handedly hoarding tens of millions of dollars in unpaid property taxes from the people of Philadelphia. Why won't they pay their taxes? Philadelphia needs funding for schools, streets, infrastructure, and public services. We can't afford to wait any longer.
Bad Salmon does not endorse physical violence against anyone, no matter how greedy they are. This is a song, for entertainment purposes only.
lyrics
Hey, David Cohen
Hey, John Fry
Hey, Stephen Klasko
Three greedy guys
I remember a time when our city adopted a policy
Philadelphia needed a plan to address inequality
We demanded a payment from hospitals and universities
An agreement to share with the people in all our diversity
The time has come
Don't want those crumbs you offer
Empty the coffers
Hey, David Cohen
Pay what you're owin
Come on and pay the people now
You gotta spread the wealth around
Pay up your PILOTs
Pay, or we'll riot!
You motherfuckers gotta pay
You should have done it yesterday
All the land in this country was stolen from Native Americans
All the wealth of this country was built by enslaving the Africans
Corporations were founded and profited off this disparity
But we're finally claiming what's ours. No, this is not charity
Return the bills
A bitter pill to swallow - justice will follow
Hey, John Fry
You can't deny
Come on and pay the people now
Before we run you out of town
Pay up your PILOTs
Pay, or we'll riot!
You motherfuckers gonna pay
You better pay it up today
With interest
At the end of the day, all I really can say is that we need a change
This unequal society cannot go on, so we're breaking the chains
We have protested peacefully so many times before quarantine
Now the people are restless, they're starting to sharpen the guillotine
This ain't a drill
Your greed has killed our loved ones
End of discussion
Hey, Stephen Klasko
What a fiasco
Come on and pay the people now
You gotta spread the wealth around
Pey up your PILOTs
Pay, or we'll riot!
You motherfuckers gotta pay
You should have done it yesterday
Hey, David Cohen
Hey, John Fry
Hey, Stephen Klasko
Three greedy guys
Warm synths, tape loops, kosmiche guitar, and folk melodies meet in a record that explores the relationship of the moon to the tides. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 8, 2023
