Let's say U.S. becomes more and more of a banana republic - how would life in DC area change?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am curious how people who have given this any thought - especially people with experience living in increasingly unequal, corrupt and dysfunctional places - see things unfolding in the DC area in that kind of scenario.

My guess is that crime would increase, the few affluent folks and the dwindling numbers of middle-class people live increasingly isolated lives in their secured homes because they are afraid to venture out as much, and many homes would be turned into boarding houses as a way to help make ends meet. I don't know why in some other cities like Paris, the slums are on the outskirts, whereas in many faded American cities, the areas that went downhill first are close in - maybe zoning?[b] Another difference I can think of is that the social fabric in the U.S. is generally weaker than in most other cultures where people are less mobile and extended families are closer knit, so that might make things unfold a little differently too.

Really? Look to history. The slums of today become the wealth areas of tomorrow and the wealth areas become the slums. As for the te US becoming a banana republic, do you think because Trump is president we are suddenly becoming a banana republic? One election does not change anything. Increased automation, productivity increases and frozen wages are the real threat to the middle class. Automation over the past 10 years has taken more middle and upper middle class jobs vs immigration.
As for what would DC look like...it would be the same as it is now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is US so filled with trash and litter all over. I did not expect a 1st world country to be so filthy?

Most of the US isn’t like this. DC is uniquely disgusting and filthy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be advisable to save your money and buy into a gated community.

The white...I mean wealthy South Afrikaners did this. They built hundreds of communities where poor non-whites can go only if they work there and even then, only during very restricted hours escorted by security.
Of course, the residents swear this has nothing to do with race.

Crime in S Africa is through the roof. I don't blame them. You would. Do exactly the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is US so filled with trash and litter all over. I did not expect a 1st world country to be so filthy?

Most of the US isn’t like this. DC is uniquely disgusting and filthy.

I asked my councilmember about the nasty gum stains on the sidewalks in our business district and she shrugged. Apparently the city leaves it to willing merchant coalitions or citizenry to clean up. They can't, as a city, order the tools and hire a team to clean citywide. Funny as the council is also always concerned about underemployment. I notice sidewalks on city owned property are never shoveled in our neighborhood in the winter as well, and as a result are treacherous to walk. At the same time they threaten homeowners with tickets. Again, why not hire a shovel brigade? Will the folks in the 8 New homeless shelters be required to have jobs or schooling? Perhaps that could be a win win scenario,start with the shovel/cleanup brigade and move up the ladder to other opportunities with proven responsibility and work skills

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is US so filled with trash and litter all over. I did not expect a 1st world country to be so filthy?

How much time do you have?

We have a lot of 3rd world citizens and illegals.

This is sad and true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is US so filled with trash and litter all over. I did not expect a 1st world country to be so filthy?

Most of the US isn’t like this. DC is uniquely disgusting and filthy.

Are you serious? Go take a drive in rural MD or VA and you'll see tons of trash, etc...I'm a cyclist who rides in these areas a lot and the amount of littering is astounding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is US so filled with trash and litter all over. I did not expect a 1st world country to be so filthy?

Most of the US isn’t like this. DC is uniquely disgusting and filthy.

Are you serious? Go take a drive in rural MD or VA and you'll see tons of trash, etc...I'm a cyclist who rides in these areas a lot and the amount of littering is astounding.

Yes, I’m serious. DCers will throw their fast food trash on the ground even if a trashcan is 3 fert away. I’ve seen it more than once.

Having been in rural VA/MD, they are nowhere as garbage-filled as DC. This is a ridiculous argument to make.

[Anonymous]

DC is pretty insulated from the rest of the economy. Lots of well educated professionals with federal jobs or contracts. If the U.S. becomes more like a third world country, the capital/governments in those places tend to do well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It wouldn’t change much, if at all. DC is basically a banana republic now:

-corrupt, inept local government

-horrible public services

-high crime

-litter all over the place

-anarchy on the roads on no traffic enforcement

-a broken, unreliable train system

-one-party rule

-statutes and buildings honoring a crack-smoking,
hooker-hiring mayor

-police who don’t show up

-emergency response system so bad that a man died on the sidewalk outside a fire station a couple years ago

-unsafe buildings that cause hazards and sometimes collapse, with little to no DCRA action

-a broken criminal justice system that encourages violence and crime

Really, what else is there?

What are you even talking about? None of the bolded are true to the extent that DC is any worse than Boston, New York, Miami, or LA.

1. I'll take a statue of a Mayor who had a drug problem over a traitorous, slave-owning Civil war criminal any day.

2. Hookers? LOL You might as well site at least a quarter of the House of Representatives.

3. One Party rule? Have you looked into the party system in the Red states that the Repubs gerrymandered?

You're misinformed. If you even live within the city limits (which I doubt), you're probably a recent transplant from a Red state and or a Trump supporter.

[Anonymous]

The throwing of trash in the transitional areas is a real problem, but not unique to DC. It's a huge problem in the working class areas of all stripes across Britain too. You need a culture shift to address that.

[Anonymous]

The criminal justice system in DC is the ONLY jurisdiction in the country that actually has Federal prosecutors that prosecute DC state-level crimes. They are the toughest and most qualified criminal lawyers in the entire American Bar. There is no stricter, highly qualified and pitbull-like collection of prosecutors anywhere in the US. If you think defendants in this city get off easily in this town--you are laughably misinformed.

-defense attorney

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The criminal justice system in DC is the ONLY jurisdiction in the country that actually has Federal prosecutors that prosecute DC state-level crimes. They are the toughest and most qualified criminal lawyers in the entire American Bar. There is no stricter, highly qualified and pitbull-like collection of prosecutors anywhere in the US. If you think defendants in this city get off easily in this town--you are laughably misinformed.

-defense attorney

Isn't the issue with criminal justice in DC related to juries unwilling to convict and lenient municipal judges?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The criminal justice system in DC is the ONLY jurisdiction in the country that actually has Federal prosecutors that prosecute DC state-level crimes. They are the toughest and most qualified criminal lawyers in the entire American Bar. There is no stricter, highly qualified and pitbull-like collection of prosecutors anywhere in the US. If you think defendants in this city get off easily in this town--you are laughably misinformed.

-defense attorney

This might be true in practice, but it doesn’t reflect reality here.

-Longtime DC resident and attorney

[Anonymous]

Might be true in theory. Not in practice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is US so filled with trash and litter all over. I did not expect a 1st world country to be so filthy?

Most of the US isn’t like this. DC is uniquely disgusting and filthy.

Are you serious? Go take a drive in rural MD or VA and you'll see tons of trash, etc...I'm a cyclist who rides in these areas a lot and the amount of littering is astounding.

The litter is from all the cyclists and hikers passing through and leaving their trash.