The mayor and City Council say they have a plan to reduce poverty in Philadelphia, and maybe that’s true — if the plan is to force the poor out of the neighborhoods by spending $400 million to boost gentrification.

Perhaps if the plan was to give the money directly to the poor, I’d believe it was about ending poverty. But since it’s about continuing tax breaks to developers, jobs to the building trades, and placing a construction tax on everyone except those who can most afford to pay it — I think it’s a scam.

I hope I’m wrong, but if this reduces poverty, it will be because the giveaways in the so-called Neighborhood Preservation Initiative helped to force poor people out of the city.