How and why is Baltimore so troubled? Is there any solution or is it terminally doomed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: They refuse to leave their neighborhoods or towns or cities for opportunities elsewhere.

People refuse to leave because they have a network of friends and relatives who are a more reliable safety net than anything provided by the state. People to leave a child with, people to crash with if they are evicted, etc. Compared to moving for a job that might not last. People who stay are not necessarily irrational.

They could learn a thing or two from immigrants.

Pretty much. And you have to take similar risks of crashing and burning or losing your job with no money. I did it, but you have to be willing to be lonely and not have any backup for emergencies. It worked out for me, but most people won't take the jump without a safety net.

Or, their existing supposed "safety nets" are what prevent them from building their own lives and careers and true safety nets.

[Anonymous]

"DC has the ballooning federal government and contractors and everything that comes with it. Baltimore has nothing. Please don’t conflate DC and Baltimore as peers and act like DC bootstrapped their way they out of being a dangerous cesspool. Without fed gov, DC would still be as dumpy as Baltimore."

Break up the DC monopoly and spread the federal purse around. To Baltimore City. To Hartford, CT. To Detroit, MI. And so on. Relocating USDA functions to Kansas City is the forerunner of authentic "hope and change."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: They refuse to leave their neighborhoods or towns or cities for opportunities elsewhere.

People refuse to leave because they have a network of friends and relatives who are a more reliable safety net than anything provided by the state. People to leave a child with, people to crash with if they are evicted, etc. Compared to moving for a job that might not last. People who stay are not necessarily irrational.

They could learn a thing or two from immigrants.

Pretty much. And you have to take similar risks of crashing and burning or losing your job with no money. I did it, but you have to be willing to be lonely and not have any backup for emergencies. It worked out for me, but most people won't take the jump without a safety net.

Or, their existing supposed "safety nets" are what prevent them from building their own lives and careers and true safety nets.

Yes, but when you are poor any safety net looks like a "true" safety net.