Pittsburgh's creative class hampered by a lack of diversity (Philadelphia: transplants, 2015)

[Lobick]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

...

I wish my partner of over three years and I could have our relationship viewed equally in the eyes of the state and Federal government as the marriage of Kim Kardashian or Britney Spears, but, alas, those people are greater moral stalwarts than we are in the eyes of the "red" parts of our state because they're heterosexual. For what it's worth after being bullied for being gay in the "red" part of the state I've found one of its "blue" parts to quite tickle my fancy. I don't feel discriminated against at the local level at all, and I appreciate that Allegheny County and/or the City of Pittsburgh have beaten the state to securing protections for the LGBT community such as banning housing discrimination and requiring city contractors to offer equal benefits for employees with same-sex partners as those with opposite-sex partners. We're on the proper trajectory here in Pittsburgh, even if Pennsylvania as a whole continues to be a laughing-stock.

Well...to the extent that it is possible, the Federal government would recognize the benefits of a same sex marriage performed in another state regardless of your PA residency.

After the Supreme Court decision last June, the Treasury Department and the
IRS said that all legally married gay couples may file joint federal tax
returns, even if they reside in states that do not recognize same-sex marriages.
The Defense Department said it would grant military spousal benefits to same-sex
couples. The Health and Human Services Department said the Defense of Marriage
Act is no longer a bar to states recognizing same-sex marriages under state
Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Programs. The U.S. Office of Personnel
Management said it is now able to extend benefits to legally married same-sex
spouses of federal employees and annuitants.

Holder applies same-sex marriage ruling to Justice | Boston Herald
U.S. expands legal benefits, services for same-sex marriages - CNN.com

And, I suggest that you keep a close eye on the Courts. Legislatively, I agree, a change would be tough to implement. Judicially, I suspect a positive ruling in PA within the year:

Pa. advocates keep eyes on key gay marriage case | PennLive.com

[zman63]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

^ Fixed for you.

We will never see 350k in the city limits again unless they annex neighborhing suburbs. Sorry SCR, the lack of migration and age of the residents will proove otherwise. No diversity will result in no interest from companies expanding here and an economy that stagnates or contracts. The white babyboomers and retirees are keeping the region afloat. When they retire or pass away there goes lots of jobs and money.

[BarqCider]

Originally Posted by UKyank

And there shouldn't be anything "wrong" with that. Whether a place is 1% Latino or 100% Latino (and isn't either one because of discrimination practices) shouldn't make it any better or worse then any place else.
Silly Americans.

there is and there isn't. so many people don't even get out of their own hometown and don't embrace different ideologies, cultures or never have gotten the opportunity to see them. Lack of "diversity" ensures the status quo remains intact, which I feel sorry for folks who don't want more. im not talking about latinos or even blacks in this aspect of "diversity".

so if a city lacks any sort of cultural or even racial diversity, why would educated, well versed intellectuals want to live there? they will just find themselves hindering their potential down. Even you guys admit people come here to study and GTFO once they finish.

[zman63]

Originally Posted by BarqCider

there is and there isn't. so many people don't even get out of their own hometown and don't embrace different ideologies, cultures or never have gotten the opportunity to see them. Lack of "diversity" ensures the status quo remains intact, which I feel sorry for folks who don't want more. im not talking about latinos or even blacks in this aspect of "diversity".

so if a city lacks any sort of cultural or even racial diversity, why would educated, well versed intellectuals want to live there? they will just find themselves hindering their potential down. Even you guys admit people come here to study and GTFO once they finish.

You are correct. There is a huge dropoff in population after those in college. Nearly 600,000 of the county's 1.2 million residents are over the age of 45. The age 27 to 45 age group is the smallest in the county by far. That is the age group in the prime earning years of their career. They are the ones having families as well. 220,000 residents age 27 to 45.

Additionally the minorities that are here make the median age numbers of the county look better. I think the median age of an allegheny county resident is 41 or 42 years old. If allegheny county was 100 percent white the median age would be 45 or 46 years old.

Another example of comparing median age numbers. Franklin county ohio has a median age of 33 years old. They are almost the same size in number as allegheny county. These numbers correlate to the growth in columbus and the stagnation in pittsburgh. Columbus has more diversity than pittsburgh.

Please note the city of pittsburghs median age is 33 years old. Take the city out of the county and the median age is probably 50 plus years old.

We need diversity or there is no chance of a thriving economy in the near or distant future in the burgh. The article I posted states that.

[sealie]

I think what would really help diversity a lot would be to find one of the internet sites people use when considering a move to another city, and then repeatedly post there moaning at length about how awful and nondiverse and backwards it is and how the food isn't exactly like it is in your favorite city. Do that and watch minorities and job creators flock to your doorstep. This idea is so obvious I cannot believe nobody has thought of it yet.

[Craziaskowboi]

This is a snippet of a recent post of mine that I received a gazillion reputation points for, and one of the points I made is very pertinent to this discussion:

Originally Posted by Gnutella

By the way, tolerance is the last thing to change when it comes to racial diversity and acceptance of newcomers. A city doesn't magically open its arms to the world and then have everybody flocking to it. What happens is, jobs are created, which grows the total population, which brings in people of all different backgrounds in the process. At that point, the people who were already there in the first place do one of three things: 1) They welcome the newcomers with open arms. 2) They adapt and learn to accept the presence of newcomers. 3) They move away, unable to tolerate the newcomers. I get the sense that this is what's happening now in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, considering Allegheny County is rapidly diversifying while the six outlying counties remain very white.

The key is job growth. Racial and social tolerance sorts itself out afterward. Did it really take only a week to forget this?

[EveKendall]

Originally Posted by BarqCider

Even you guys admit people come here to study and GTFO once they finish.

I am not sure who 'you guys ' is referring to in your post, but I wonder if this is still true. Certainly the undergraduate and graduate students I work with at Pitt usually want to sty in the area. More and more these students are coming from other parts of the country and then want to stay here (so it isn't just locals who want to stay).
I think the 'Brain Drain' phenomenon is on the way out.
And the median age declined between 2000 and 2010 (from 35 to 33).

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by zman63

No diversity will result in no interest from companies expanding here and an economy that stagnates or contracts.

??????? As far as company expansion goes, I think you're giving diversity a lot more power than it deserves. Most companies have numerous factors they consider for choosing whether or not to expand in a city. And all of them have to do with making money. Diversity? Not high on the list, if it even makes the list at all, IMO

[pghdude28]

Originally Posted by EveKendall

I am not sure who 'you guys ' is referring to in your post, but I wonder if this is still true. Certainly the undergraduate and graduate students I work with at Pitt usually want to sty in the area. More and more these students are coming from other parts of the country and then want to stay here (so it isn't just locals who want to stay).
I think the 'Brain Drain' phenomenon is on the way out.

The ones that want to stay end up leaving after graduation due to limited job opportunities. The ones that do land jobs are usually here temporarily. After age 25-26, they begin to look elsewhere and often end up leaving. If you're a Pitt student who grew up in say Philly, you usually end up leaving after graduation as well. I can remember clearly a quote from one of my friends at Pitt who grew up in NJ - "I only stay in Oakland and don't care about the rest. Confusing roads, run-down, and rains every day. Who would want to live in Pittsburgh?" That sentiment was expressed by many out-of-towers as well.

On the topic of diversity, Pittsburgh is always behind. They think diversity means having a black person in the office. It's a segregated city and xenophobia is a problem. A lot of people here cling to stereotypes of other groups. I've heard many times "Why do all white people do this?" Or "I'm not dealing with another Asian customer. I can't understand a word they're saying." The former views certain racial groups as one giant monolith and the latter is offensive and racist. The best from a Yinzer is when he/she says, "I'm not racist, I have plenty of black friends." To me, diversity mean ideas and perspectives. Race, gender, religion, nationality, etc may influence one's ideas, perspective, and frame of reference. Sorry if this is above anyone's head.

[sskink]

Originally Posted by Caladium

??????? As far as company expansion goes, I think you're giving diversity a lot more power than it deserves. Most companies have numerous factors they consider for choosing whether or not to expand in a city. And all of them have to do with making money. Diversity? Not high on the list, if it even makes the list at all, IMO

Exactly. Things like having direct flights to other major business/financial centers (including international) has more to do with attracting & growing businesses than diversity.And even that's often behind factors like "where do the key top executives want to live?"