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Not only that, but people should be forced to open up all extra bedrooms to anyone who demands one. It shouldn't matter if they're just poor, single moms, druggies, or vagrants. Don't you "meanie-head republicans" know that people who make bad choices in life or who simply don't want to work need to be taken care of?
This is especially true for minorities and new arrivals, I mean you do support diversity don't you? So why can't you open up your bedrooms to them, for free, for an indefinite period of time (yep, coming to an America near you folks). Also: Montgomery country should implement rent control to "help the poor out", because no unintended consequences have ever resulted from rent control and have never restricted the supply of units out there and have never ultimately caused prices to go up.
Hey, good thing the oh-so-benevolent libs redistricted the Maryland congressional map. Those podunk hillbillies out in Garret, Allegheny and Washington didn't need representation in Congress anyway, because urban areas know what's best and those rural people are just silly and backwards.
Too many have risen out of poverty for me to believe your nonsense. Ben Carson? Walter E. Williams? Just two good examples.
If you have 8 minutes to spare you should check out this video from economist (a real economist, not some quack they put on the Tee Vee these days to reverberate Keynesian/FED talking points) Walter Williams, now of George Mason University.
There are two other parts after this, but not mandatory (though if you understand the first video you might as well watch the others)
Oh, and Ben Carson's mother couldn't even read or write...but the guy became a Neurosurgeon.
But on the other hand if you want to be a thug and a slug...by all means, keep doing what you're doing and what generations before have done. Keep having babies you can't afford and then go on welfare. Keep dropping out of high school and then spending the next 40-50 years (assuming they don't get shot first) sitting on a stoop in the city or in a jail cell. Keep robbing stores so that businesses don't start up in the area (or prices double as with the corner stores because of the risk the owners have to take, that and bullet proof glass, security doors, and running a half dozen cameras isn't cheap).
People make choices in life. Your comment is garbage. I'm done apologizing because I've made decent choices and have done reasonably well for myself before 30.
Too many have risen out of poverty for me to believe your nonsense. Ben Carson? Walter E. Williams? Just two good examples.
If you have 8 minutes to spare you should check out this video from economist (a real economist, not some quack they put on the Tee Vee these days to reverberate Keynesian/FED talking points) Walter Williams, now of George Mason University.
There are two other parts after this, but not mandatory (though if you understand the first video you might as well watch the others)
Oh, and Ben Carson's mother couldn't even read or write...but the guy became a Neurosurgeon.
But on the other hand if you want to be a thug and a slug...by all means, keep doing what you're doing and what generations before have done. Keep having babies you can't afford and then go on welfare. Keep dropping out of high school and then spending the next 40-50 years (assuming they don't get shot first) sitting on a stoop in the city or in a jail cell. Keep robbing stores so that businesses don't start up in the area (or prices double as with the corner stores because of the risk the owners have to take, that and bullet proof glass, security doors, and running a half dozen cameras isn't cheap).
People make choices in life. Your comment is garbage. I'm done apologizing because I've made decent choices and have done reasonably well for myself before 30.
It's always really, really cute when someone who has no idea what they're talking about thinks they know everything. Maybe someday (maybe when you get some years under your belt?) you'll have some perspective. News flash: being born into a blessed situation makes your life easier and increases your chances of success. No one is asking you to "apologize" for that fact - it'd just be nice if you weren't such a dick to those who have a harder road than you.
No affluence in the eastern part of the county??? Yeah, those 1/2 million+ dollar homes I drive past in Burtonsville, Brookeville, OLNEY, parts of Colesville(on New Hampsire north of Ranldolph) must all be optical illusions... While there could possibly be a large number of low-income housing recipients that are placed in some of the the aging apartment/condo/town home developments along the route 29 corridor (White Oak and some of the aging areas of Burtonsville---particularly around Briggs Chaney Shopping Center), the same type of housing also exists along the 270 corridor---Gaithersburg: Old Town/Goshen/Montgomery Village-Lakeforest Mall area and Germantown: Cinnamon Woods, parts of Clopper Road, Gunners Branch, areas along Wisteria Drive... As another poster said, the 270 corridor, particularly Gaithersburg and Germantown are booming but a large portion of that growth is low to moderate income---which, by the way, STILL isn't saying very much when you acknowledge the fact that Maryland has the highest median household income in the country... Since moving to the Germantown area in 2007, there has been a major explosion in regards to population growth in this area... Mostly low to moderate income workers/families. While some may attribute the growth in this corridor to the rich buying up more houses in Potomac and and million dollar condos in Bethesda and Rockville, I would attribute this to the fact that Montgomery County and the DC metro area in general is one of the few places in the country that is fortunate enough to have a huge middle class. This is due to the fact that our county and many counties in our region have a huge number of highly educated/skilled residents---Montgomery County has the highest percentage of people in the COUNTRY with master's degrees--- if you add this to presence of the federal government/contractors , NIH, NIST, major employment center for key industries such as biotech, engineering and others that employed a large number of workers in this area THROUGH the economic downturn of the late 2000's and thus protecting the a large number of residents in this area this area from the FULL brunt of the job losses and foreclosures that other areas of the country are still struggling with as a result of the economic downturn-- I would come to the conclusion that Montgomery county is a relatively stable place to live and work... This would readily translate into growth as the economy begins to stabilize/improve...
I would probably be careful about making judgements about exploding populations of illlegal immigrants forcing their way into the 270 corridor where you can barely find a one bedroom MPDU apartment to rent under $1200/month---and the fact that the program rarely has vacancies to rent at any given time due to the huge demand and would require one to show various forms of LEGAL documentation to be approved... Proof of income/employment(legal steady employment), good credit (generally tied to a legal identity), household size/income limits and most of all ability to pay--- These are things that most people seeking a handout would definitely not bother to falsify ... Especially when it's apparently quite easy to decide not to work at all and take advantage of the various federally funded housing programs (HUD--section 8/housing choice) that are administered by the state/county. The income range for an MPDU rental is between $30,000 and $80,000/yr depending on the size of your household-- even higher for the home ownership program and they highly favor families and public sector employees.A household on the lower end of the range in size and income likely wouldn't even qualify for a MPDU unit because there's no way you could afford $1200+/month rent/1600+mortgage, with utilities, and other expenses on that income. You would have to make close to the upper income limit for your household size and basically have no debt to be able to reasonably afford a MPDU... These rentals are generally located in highly desirable existing developments or new construction and the program helps many teachers, public safety, healthcare, and entry-level employees and their families (particularly those who are single heads of a household) to afford to live close to the communities that they serve--- ANY COUNTY --incluling Prince George's (where I've also lived) could benefit from that... Builders benefit from the tax breaks and incentives offered by the county in exchange for making a certain percentage of their units moderately priced and are still able to rent/sell the remaining units at market value...
...who said that? The headline and OP title says "Affluent Montgomery County has pockets of poverty, mostly in the east"
That means 1. MoCo is affluent 2. MoCo has some pockets of poverty (like any place with over a million people, obviously) 3. those pockets are primarily located in the eastern part of the county.
There's no debating any of those simple facts. Of course east-county has plenty of affluence. That's what the headline says, after all.
Sometimes, it's best not to dignify something with a response. You have to realize that once in a while.
Ignoring the facts as they are is a reason to also ignore a thread?
LOL
Only in liberal la-la land, I suppose. Especially when those facts cast a negative light on the much over-hyped, slowly sinking ship that is called the USS Montgomery County!
No affluence in the eastern part of the county??? Yeah, those 1/2 million+ dollar homes I drive past in Burtonsville, Brookeville, OLNEY, parts of Colesville(on New Hampsire north of Ranldolph) must all be optical illusions... While there could possibly be a large number of low-income housing recipients that are placed in some of the the aging apartment/condo/town home developments along the route 29 corridor (White Oak and some of the aging areas of Burtonsville---particularly around Briggs Chaney Shopping Center), the same type of housing also exists along the 270 corridor---Gaithersburg: Old Town/Goshen/Montgomery Village-Lakeforest Mall area and Germantown: Cinnamon Woods, parts of Clopper Road, Gunners Branch, areas along Wisteria Drive... As another poster said, the 270 corridor, particularly Gaithersburg and Germantown are booming but a large portion of that growth is low to moderate income---which, by the way, STILL isn't saying very much when you acknowledge the fact that Maryland has the highest median household income in the country... Since moving to the Germantown area in 2007, there has been a major explosion in regards to population growth in this area... Mostly low to moderate income workers/families. While some may attribute the growth in this corridor to the rich buying up more houses in Potomac and and million dollar condos in Bethesda and Rockville, I would attribute this to the fact that Montgomery County and the DC metro area in general is one of the few places in the country that is fortunate enough to have a huge middle class. This is due to the fact that our county and many counties in our region have a huge number of highly educated/skilled residents---Montgomery County has the highest percentage of people in the COUNTRY with master's degrees--- if you add this to presence of the federal government/contractors , NIH, NIST, major employment center for key industries such as biotech, engineering and others that employed a large number of workers in this area THROUGH the economic downturn of the late 2000's and thus protecting the a large number of residents in this area this area from the FULL brunt of the job losses and foreclosures that other areas of the country are still struggling with as a result of the economic downturn-- I would come to the conclusion that Montgomery county is a relatively stable place to live and work... This would readily translate into growth as the economy begins to stabilize/improve...
I would probably be careful about making judgements about exploding populations of illlegal immigrants forcing their way into the 270 corridor where you can barely find a one bedroom MPDU apartment to rent under $1200/month---and the fact that the program rarely has vacancies to rent at any given time due to the huge demand and would require one to show various forms of LEGAL documentation to be approved... Proof of income/employment(legal steady employment), good credit (generally tied to a legal identity), household size/income limits and most of all ability to pay--- These are things that most people seeking a handout would definitely not bother to falsify ... Especially when it's apparently quite easy to decide not to work at all and take advantage of the various federally funded housing programs (HUD--section 8/housing choice) that are administered by the state/county. The income range for an MPDU rental is between $30,000 and $80,000/yr depending on the size of your household-- even higher for the home ownership program and they highly favor families and public sector employees.A household on the lower end of the range in size and income likely wouldn't even qualify for a MPDU unit because there's no way you could afford $1200+/month rent/1600+mortgage, with utilities, and other expenses on that income. You would have to make close to the upper income limit for your household size and basically have no debt to be able to reasonably afford a MPDU... These rentals are generally located in highly desirable existing developments or new construction and the program helps many teachers, public safety, healthcare, and entry-level employees and their families (particularly those who are single heads of a household) to afford to live close to the communities that they serve--- ANY COUNTY --incluling Prince George's (where I've also lived) could benefit from that... Builders benefit from the tax breaks and incentives offered by the county in exchange for making a certain percentage of their units moderately priced and are still able to rent/sell the remaining units at market value...
So, the point you're making is that 1)Rich people still live in Montgomery County, 2) Low-to-moderate income earners are infesting the I-270 corridor, and 3) Illegal immigrants are competing for housing with legal citizens of low-to-moderate income?
Ok. I'm pretty sure that that's in line with everything else that's been said on the thread so far. The only difference being that you seem to want try to dispel the notion that illegal immigrants are driving poverty rates in MoCo. If that's the case, please explain why you feel this way when statistics point to a very different conclusion.
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