Help the State deficit by restructuring the welfare systems instead of layoff state workers! (Columbia: renting, home sales)

[TuborgP]

Originally Posted by bowian

I agree. Perhaps these other counties that are so much greater than PG and Baltimore can share the load of impoverished residents that exists in those two areas. You know, balance things out a little.

Why? Thats why people moved there to get away from. If Maryland keeps losing safe havens of safety and good schools people will just move elsewhere. Property values are higher in some areas because they are more exclusive and lower in areas that have a higher level of poverty. Why screw up good schools with high property values by bringing in section 8 housing? If those property values go down and people move out, what will that do long term to tax revenues. Hmmmmm maybe thats part of the problem now?

[bowian]

Originally Posted by TuborgP

Why? Thats why people moved there to get away from. If Maryland keeps losing safe havens of safety and good schools people will just move elsewhere. Property values are higher in some areas because they are more exclusive and lower in areas that have a higher level of poverty. Why screw up good schools with high property values by bringing in section 8 housing? If those property values go down and people move out, what will that do long term to tax revenues. Hmmmmm maybe thats part of the problem now?

The point is no area deserves to be "screwed up." I admit I'm a firm believer in dispersing those who have more to learn about neighborhood pride, the value of education and the value of self-sufficiency. No, not all poor or low-income people think and act the same. Many of the poor people trapped in those concentrated areas of poverty don't want to be there. I dare say that many to most of them aren't causing the problems. But they can't go elsewhere. And they get lumped in with those making trouble.

[TuborgP]

Originally Posted by bowian

The point is no area deserves to be "screwed up." I admit I'm a firm believer in dispersing those who have more to learn about neighborhood pride, the value of education and the value of self-sufficiency. No, not all poor or low-income people think and act the same. Many of the poor people trapped in those concentrated areas of poverty don't want to be there. I dare say that many to most of them aren't causing the problems. But they can't go elsewhere. And they get lumped in with those making trouble.

What you say is very true and a legitimate argument for dispersing low income housing. However the other side of the reality is the NIMBY impact with people then moving out to other areas who can afford to.

[bowian]

Originally Posted by TuborgP

What you say is very true and a legitimate argument for dispersing low income housing. However the other side of the reality is the NIMBY impact with people then moving out to other areas who can afford to.

I agree with that. There are some efforts to create mixed communities (houses, TH, apts., middle to moderate to low income). I haven't heard much about whether such areas have worked. In fact, isn't Columbia supposed to be one such area? Lots of people love it, with the exception of those who find it to be plastic-looking.

[trying2moveup]

Originally Posted by aneftp

And to think I paid over 20K alone just on just my Maryland state income alone for a single person. So the governor increases my state income tax to (8.95%). 3.2% Howard County plus 5.75% State income.

What in the world did Maryland do with all those "excess tax revenue" during the housing boom the past 5-7 years. All those taxes collected just from home sales (I believe Maryland has one of the top 5 closing costs for home purchases in the country).

So where did all the tax revenue money go? I'm all for paying teachers, good schools, roads etc. But Maryland government needs to get more efficient.

One thought would be to decrease heating costs for public buildings in the winter time. Just like in Japan, I would decrease the room temperature in public building to 62 degrees in the daytime and decrease it to 55 degrees for off work hours. Maryland can save around $500 a month per public office that is operated. Now, that's how you save money so you do not have to lay off workers.

This is a great idea - and it's what I do at my home right now (except we're set at 60 degrees during the day). With all those student bodies in one room, they will generate enough heat for it to feel like it's much warmer than 62 degrees and when no one is there at night, why not turn the thermostat down? Those on the green bandwagon should advocate for THIS!

[trying2moveup]

Originally Posted by lscalder

You can not get rid of welfare because their are plenty of Americans White,Blacks,Hispanic,Asians who are very poor. I know the average Americans are not aware of those who are poor and living in very bad conditions. America has plenty of very very very poor residents and those who need help should get help.
What you do need to complain about is the government giving the wealthiest Americans $700 billion dollars. Believe it or not the ones who get the most government aids are the wealthiest Americans not the poor.

If the government gets rid of welfare I think they should get rid of every aid that the government pays for such as grant for education,Money to save people home,child refund tax credit,Health insurance,Money to businesses and all the tax credits. If we get rid of one free money that the government gives why not get rid of all.

There is a fundamental flaw in the very first line of this quote. Yes, you CAN. .. get rid of welfare. Whether people will riot at the mere thought or embrace it with open arms is a whole other story. I'm all for assistance. I'm NOT for the never ending gravy train of welfare and section 8 vouchers that essentially - and everyone who is of reasonable mind knows this is in the back of their heads and bottom of their hearts - TRAPS people into a CYCLE OF POVERTY.

Lord knows my own family has had its share of economic ups and downs. In the space of a year my husband was laid off twice in the early 2000s. But since we are prudent with our finances, don't live above our means, and can literally cut stuff out immediately that becomes non-essential in the face of losing an income (you know, some people just can't dish the Dish and would rather have that than food on the table). Also, we didn't qualify for assistance because, as a teacher, the remaining income was too high to qualify (go figure, as a teacher). So here we have always paid our taxes and when WE need help, it is not available. In other words, you have to be at such the bottom of the barrel and once you get on the system, you have to STAY at the bottom in order to keep getting the money.

I'm not advocating violence but there is incentive, in my mind, in say Saudi Arabia where if they catch you stealing, they cut off the hand you used. I bet not too many people get it into their heads to commit serious offenses (and I'm not debating the totalitarian regime of that monarcy compared to the US, blah blah blah). What I'm saying is that there is incentive to get off your a** in dire times if there is a very thin to no safety net. There is incentive to budget and live WITHOUT credit cards and debt if you have the idea that in a week you could be without a job. There is incentive to keep things in check. There is such as thing as healthy fear. . . But is one expects the government to help at every turn, then where is the incentive to pull yourself up by your boot straps, as people used to say?

And this is precisely why I don't vote for anyone whose platform is comprised of almost entirely Socialist programs.

[AmericanAnomie]

I don't think Montgomery is a heck of a lot "better" than Prince George's Co. I've lived in both. Both have concentrated urbanized corridors of poverty. And Prince George's County's crime rate actually went down, probably because some of the crime has moved into loony liberal Montgomery. Middle-class flight has been rampant in many neighborhoods in MoCo, just as in other periods of rapid property turnover. And it's truly multi-cultural middle-class flight.

My neighborhood is loud, chaotic, and filthy, especially as the weather warms up. A lot of the newer residents don't seem to prioritize education in the same way previous residents did. Adults here routinely host loud house parties for teens and twenty-somethings. Flophouses are everywhere. The newest residents really don't care about community except within their own ethnic groups. There is little/no sense of community; it's very fragmented and dysfunctional. The people who still reside in neighborhoods like mine either come from countries so crowded that people practically live on top of each other and think that's just dandy, or people like me who are middle-class holdouts in smaller, quieter households.

And every Maryland Democrat tip-toes around the issue of latino dominance and the increasingly powerful pro-illegal immigration lobby. Just look at funding for the LEDC and other initiatives. Non-latino businesses in Wheaton don't get the same kind of ethnic special-interest boost. El Pollo Rico, run by the most shamelessly exploitive people, is still in business after having been given all kinds of red-carpet treatment by the county's redevelopment program and other "partnerships." It's like southern California; the Dems all crow about "diversity" but don't even give non-latino minority groups a level playing field any more. Here's a tip on liberal code words: if you live in a "vibrant" community, chances are that means it's loud and overcrowded and not ideal for people who like to do old-fashioned things like read and study and go to school.

That's why I'm not a Democrat anymore. I'm unaffiliated. I couldn't take the "diversity" happy-talk that doesn't reflect the reality of burgeoning poverty and stress and the loss of our quality of life.

[cool rob]

Originally Posted by AmericanAnomie

I don't think Montgomery is a heck of a lot "better" than Prince George's Co. I've lived in both. Both have concentrated urbanized corridors of poverty. And Prince George's County's crime rate actually went down, probably because some of the crime has moved into loony liberal Montgomery. Middle-class flight has been rampant in many neighborhoods in MoCo, just as in other periods of rapid property turnover. And it's truly multi-cultural middle-class flight.

My neighborhood is loud, chaotic, and filthy, especially as the weather warms up. A lot of the newer residents don't seem to prioritize education in the same way previous residents did. Adults here routinely host loud house parties for teens and twenty-somethings. Flophouses are everywhere. The newest residents really don't care about community except within their own ethnic groups. There is little/no sense of community; it's very fragmented and dysfunctional. The people who still reside in neighborhoods like mine either come from countries so crowded that people practically live on top of each other and think that's just dandy, or people like me who are middle-class holdouts in smaller, quieter households.

And every Maryland Democrat tip-toes around the issue of latino dominance and the increasingly powerful pro-illegal immigration lobby. Just look at funding for the LEDC and other initiatives. Non-latino businesses in Wheaton don't get the same kind of ethnic special-interest boost. El Pollo Rico, run by the most shamelessly exploitive people, is still in business after having been given all kinds of red-carpet treatment by the county's redevelopment program and other "partnerships." It's like southern California; the Dems all crow about "diversity" but don't even give non-latino minority groups a level playing field any more. Here's a tip on liberal code words: if you live in a "vibrant" community, chances are that means it's loud and overcrowded and not ideal for people who like to do old-fashioned things like read and study and go to school.

That's why I'm not a Democrat anymore. I'm unaffiliated. I couldn't take the "diversity" happy-talk that doesn't reflect the reality of burgeoning poverty and stress and the loss of our quality of life.

I guess "latino's" are only good enough for you when there cutting your grass huh? As soon as some assimilate to better communities, their is now rampant fear and loathing, give me a break

These neighborhoods that many belive were so "perfect" before this influx of non whites, were not devoid of problems. Please belive there were drug overdoses (see the move traffic), violence (albeit mostly domestic against June Cleaver which was hidden and even accepted), and poverty (once again hidden). It was a plastic exsistence, centered around priveledge. As long as you stayed in Langley Park or Columbia Heights you were fine, but once you have stepped foot in MY community, oh my, imagine the widespread destruction and degradation!!!

How about we understand, before attempting to be understood.

[TuborgP]

Originally Posted by bowian

I agree with that. There are some efforts to create mixed communities (houses, TH, apts., middle to moderate to low income). I haven't heard much about whether such areas have worked. In fact, isn't Columbia supposed to be one such area? Lots of people love it, with the exception of those who find it to be plastic-looking.

Columbia is a perfect example of mixed housing and single family housing cost. Areas that are more exclusive are much more expensive and those that are more income diverse have MUCH lower sq footage cost.

[AmericanAnomie]

Originally Posted by cool rob

As long as you stayed in Langley Park or Columbia Heights you were fine, but once you have stepped foot in MY community, oh my, imagine the widespread destruction and degradation!!!

So pinche whitey has to stay in Columbia or Potomac, is that it?

I lived in Langley Park for several years. So what's your point; only racial/ethnic minorities are allowed to live in Langley Park? I lived behind Tick Tock Liquors in the late 1990s/early 2000s (if you know Hyattsville/College Park you know where that is) and it was actually quieter and more peaceful than my current suburban Montg. Cty. neighborhood is today.

Sounds like you don't like independents / non-liberals like me venturing out of Langley Park and shattering your safe little assumptions.