Tampa = "hell on earth" (Mayo: low income, 2013, crime)

[DUNNDFRNT]

Originally Posted by PriusH8r

Errrrr.....does the guy have an agenda much.....LOL

I am not even trying to debate the pros and cons of Tampa. I am just referring to his perspective, based off of certain things he stated.

I think it is obvious what he is.

You can argue his conclusion but not the points he made. Tampa was one of the worst hit in the foreclosure crisis, downtown is fragmented and ill conceived. You can't deny upward mobility here is an issue. The tea party thing goes hand on hand with the lack of developing public transportation.

[sinatras]

I am very suspicious as to why this elitist journo zeroed in to pick on Tampa. There were many many cities and states hit hard by the crisis. So why Tampa?

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by sinatras

I am very suspicious as to why this elitist journo zeroed in to pick on Tampa. There were many many cities and states hit hard by the crisis. So why Tampa?

Political. He is a loon from way way way out in left field, so Tampa was a natural calling to him to bash.

Again, I am not arguing pros and cons of Tampa here. Heck, I never want to live in Tampa for my "own" reasons. However, what he is is obvious. He did not even try to hide it. Now all those who have his leaning will of course fall in line, because that is what extremists do.

[kmarc]

Originally Posted by sinatras

I am very suspicious as to why this elitist journo zeroed in to pick on Tampa. There were many many cities and states hit hard by the crisis. So why Tampa?

My guess is our demographics make us an easy target. Tampa is truly diverse, as opposed to Detroit, for example.

The self-satisfied elitist facade is beginning to crack, since their own cities are turning into cess-pits, but they don't dare say why, because that would be an admission of their gross failures. Look at Chicago. Check out the story about human waste in the San Francisco public transportation system. A lot of the trouble in these cities is not reported in the MSM, or heavily suppressed. The less well-paid elitists spent years, decades, licking the posteriors of those they thought were all the right people and they're in danger of getting thrown under the bus just like everyone else. So they're bitter. And I'd be willing to bet, that for all our own problems here in Tampa, it's NOTHING compared to what's going on in their cities. Pointing at Tampa deflects a good look at their home turfs.

That's how I see it, anyway.

[Not_liking_FL]

Originally Posted by PriusH8r

Political. He is a loon from way way way out in left field, so Tampa was a natural calling to him to bash.

Again, I am not arguing pros and cons of Tampa here. Heck, I never want to live in Tampa for my "own" reasons. However, what he is is obvious. He did not even try to hide it. Now all those who have his leaning will of course fall in line, because that is what extremists do.

A lot of us with some of his leanings have been griping about the same things long before he did, so I wouldn't call that "falling in line". It's ironic that someone of your leanings would call others "extremist".

[gonzoUSF]

The funny part is, just in the past 2 days Tampa made some very notable lists.

Tampa was named by Bloomberg Businessweek as being the 34th best city in the country, the only city that made the list from the state of Florida. (America's 50 Best Cities - The Best Places to Live - Businessweek)

And today, Tampa theater was named the 3rd best theater in the world (10 of the World’s Best Movie Theaters | The Credits)

[kmarc]

Regarding my reply above about the elitist cities turning into cess-pits, make that OVER-TAXED cess pits. Probably burns his naked patootie that Tampa (and Hillsborough County) are remarkably OK financially unlike other areas. Pretty neat trick for an area that got hit by the ugly stick during the downturn, wouldn't you say? And I also see that the guy noticed our diversity, and I find it interesting that he described it as "uneasy". Really? How would he know? Let him go to Chi-town and he'll find out what "uneasy" really is.

He must've had a bad meal when he was down here to stir the pot.

[vaughanwilliams]

Originally Posted by DUNNDFRNT

You can argue his conclusion but not the points he made. Tampa was one of the worst hit in the foreclosure crisis, downtown is fragmented and ill conceived. You can't deny upward mobility here is an issue. The tea party thing goes hand on hand with the lack of developing public transportation.

I agree. Tampa and the entire region has grandiose plans for stadiums, artsy piers, concert halls but the jobs in the area haven't changed, the pay hasn't changed, the housing bubble is inflating again with the return of the flippers, the whole economic model is still based on low wage service jobs and "growth" (growth meaning purely cramming more people into an ever shrinking area). Construction, which employed thousands, is stagnant to the point of being non-existent and if and when it ever returns, it's not going to be as it once was. The entire industry (especially housing) is now dominated by low wage, disposable migrant labor. That is a fact.


I'd like to say that a lesson was learned during the recession about diversifying, but it doesn't appear so. Either way, Baghdad is hell on Earth, not Tampa.

[kmarc]

And, as much as Carriage Pointe was a disaster, compare and contrast the photo of a rather neat, if cookie-cutter looking subdivision with some of the bombed out areas of the elitist cities, lol.

I like to envision this guy wandering around here in the heat, his face turning purple and muttering to himself " I. MUST. Find. Something. Wrong." Oh, wait, I remember the guy, he panhandled me in Ybor, lol.

[Not_liking_FL]

Originally Posted by kmarc

Regarding my reply above about the elitist cities turning into cess-pits, make that OVER-TAXED cess pits. Probably burns his naked patootie that Tampa (and Hillsborough County) are remarkably OK financially unlike other areas. Pretty neat trick for an area that got hit by the ugly stick during the downturn, wouldn't you say? And I also see that the guy noticed our diversity, and I find it interesting that he described it as "uneasy". Really? How would he know? Let him go to Chi-town and he'll find out what "uneasy" really is.

He must've had a bad meal when he was down here to stir the pot.

How can you possibly compare Chicago and Tampa? If you want to talk diversity, talk about Chicago. I've never felt uneasy in Chicago, you know why? I stay out of the bad neighborhoods.