Meaningful accountability but only for the affluent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In general, affluent families don't depend on the lottery. Working class families do. Skipping the line in the lottery is an affront to everyone who depends on the lottery, which is why it was a political hot button. So I disagree with the premise of the story.

Middle class working folks don't get to skip the lottery either. DC is a hard city for middle class or lower to make ends meet. The current system is killing middle class DC.

DC isn't designed for middle class people with kids. DC schools are terrible except for ward 3 which is the most expensive ward in the city.

Most people in DC don't have kids which is the real reason education doesn't get as much traction from council

DC hada middle class community for many generations! There are a number of Historical African American middle class and white middle class neighborhoods. Not to say all those middle class were college educated some are/were lots where government, union, teachers etc. We live in a middle class African American neighborhood. The schools were once excellent even though predominantly segregated. The 80s and 90s definitely damazed the schools as many people with kids decided to move out of the city then. While the grandparents stayed in the old neighborhood. Today things are shifting back with some midde class families staying or keeping family homes. But please don't say there is no middle class DC. There has always been.

You must be in Brookland? If not, curious where else is like this.

Our local school (Bunker Hill) apparently used to be a top performer. It was gutted, I'm not sure exactly when but probably for the reasons you mention.

No, we are not in Brookland. There are more of middle class neighborhoods in NE than Brookland. Of course Brookland has already become too prices for most middle class families that wish to buy a home now. Sadly is quickly becoming the case in surrounding NE middle class neighborhoods as well. The Amenities like groceries, small shopping, new library's, resturants, etc brought in by big the developer is long over due. But it is hard for long time hard working residents to process at times. Years and years of red lining with very little investment, development or support and managed to stay fairly nice and safe for a long time. Now developmers finally see it as a community worth spending money in which isn't a bad thing but there is a bit of bitterness that it has taken so long. And now the same middle class families that kept a lot of the area nice can't afford to stay or have their middle class kids and grandkids buy homes in the neighborhood. It is sad.

Honestly, expecting your children and grandchildren to buy homes in your exact neighborhood sounds like something that happens in small towns not a major metropolis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In general, affluent families don't depend on the lottery. Working class families do. Skipping the line in the lottery is an affront to everyone who depends on the lottery, which is why it was a political hot button. So I disagree with the premise of the story.

Middle class working folks don't get to skip the lottery either. DC is a hard city for middle class or lower to make ends meet. The current system is killing middle class DC.

DC isn't designed for middle class people with kids. DC schools are terrible except for ward 3 which is the most expensive ward in the city.

Most people in DC don't have kids which is the real reason education doesn't get as much traction from council

DC hada middle class community for many generations! There are a number of Historical African American middle class and white middle class neighborhoods. Not to say all those middle class were college educated some are/were lots where government, union, teachers etc. We live in a middle class African American neighborhood. The schools were once excellent even though predominantly segregated. The 80s and 90s definitely damazed the schools as many people with kids decided to move out of the city then. While the grandparents stayed in the old neighborhood. Today things are shifting back with some midde class families staying or keeping family homes. But please don't say there is no middle class DC. There has always been.

You must be in Brookland? If not, curious where else is like this.

Our local school (Bunker Hill) apparently used to be a top performer. It was gutted, I'm not sure exactly when but probably for the reasons you mention.

No, we are not in Brookland. There are more of middle class neighborhoods in NE than Brookland. Of course Brookland has already become too prices for most middle class families that wish to buy a home now. Sadly is quickly becoming the case in surrounding NE middle class neighborhoods as well. The Amenities like groceries, small shopping, new library's, resturants, etc brought in by big the developer is long over due. But it is hard for long time hard working residents to process at times. Years and years of red lining with very little investment, development or support and managed to stay fairly nice and safe for a long time. Now developmers finally see it as a community worth spending money in which isn't a bad thing but there is a bit of bitterness that it has taken so long. And now the same middle class families that kept a lot of the area nice can't afford to stay or have their middle class kids and grandkids buy homes in the neighborhood. It is sad.

Honestly, expecting your children and grandchildren to buy homes in your exact neighborhood sounds like something that happens in small towns not a major metropolis.

Not necessarily. The median distance Americans live from their mothers is 18 miles. And lower income, less educated people tend to live closer. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/12/24/upshot/24up-family.html

From the linked article: "Over all, the median distance Americans live from their mother is 18 miles, and only 20 percent live more than a couple of hours’ drive from their parents. (Researchers often study the distance from mothers because they are more likely to be caregivers and to live longer than men.)

"To some extent, people’s proximity to their parents is a reflection of opportunity: The biggest determinants of how far people venture from home are education and income. Those with college and professional degrees are much more likely to live farther from their parents than those with a high school education, in part because they have more job opportunities in big cities, and especially if spouses are juggling the career aspirations of two professionals.

"Wealthier people can afford to pay for services like child and elder care, while low-income families are more likely to rely on nearby relatives. It seems likely that the more education someone has, the farther from home they go, said Robert A. Pollak, an economist at Washington University’s Olin Business School in St. Louis, who studies the economics of family. Middle-class, educated two-income couples — say, a schoolteacher and a nurse — seem to be more likely to live near parents
than those with higher-earning careers.

“It speaks to a class divide in the population,” Mr. Pollak said. “Particularly as you go further down the socioeconomic scale, people are living pretty close to their parents, and this means they’re able to provide help.” "

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In general, affluent families don't depend on the lottery. Working class families do. Skipping the line in the lottery is an affront to everyone who depends on the lottery, which is why it was a political hot button. So I disagree with the premise of the story.

Guess what? Wilson families are "working families" too. Nobody is living off of a trust fund as opposed to a paycheck. Those in DC who are truly wealthy and don't work, go private anyway.

It was absolutely an affront to Wilson families - who had to accrue the resources to buy into the Wilson boundary. People who live in small, ugly houses that haven't been updated in decades - but carry an enormous premium because of Wilson are genuinely affronted that he got to buy something brand new and enormous for the same amount of money and still get the same privileges.

No, not really. I would die for one of those small un-updated houses in a upper NW. I wouldn't consider it a sacrifice at all. That you think it is is gross to my mind. Entitled and gross.

I don't think is about sacrifice, but rather about trade-offs. Antwan Wilson bought a large, essentially brand new house without a good school. People from DC know that if you're going to make that choice, you should budget for private or have a solid plan (like being on the ground floor for one of the charters you like or a selective school). There are plenty of wealthy AA families in DC, largely living EOTP. He could have spent that money on a house IB for Wilson. It wouldn't have been nearly as nice, but he wouldn't have had to worry about school. Had Ellington worked out, it all would have been fine. Or if he had legally had the child apply to Banneker or Walls. Or Latin or Basis or DCI. Or private. But he skipped the line and paid the price. And everyone who relies on public schools loses when people get to cheat.

If you think Ward 3 is somehow too affluent to care, then you don't understand how this city works. Mary Cheh was among the first to call for Wilson's resignation for a reason - her constituents (the public school ones at Wilson) were outraged. The ones in private school are the ones who didn't care. And they're not reading this board.

People have different priorities. That you expect everyone to agree with yours is actually what's pretty gross.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In general, affluent families don't depend on the lottery. Working class families do. Skipping the line in the lottery is an affront to everyone who depends on the lottery, which is why it was a political hot button. So I disagree with the premise of the story.

Middle class working folks don't get to skip the lottery either. DC is a hard city for middle class or lower to make ends meet. The current system is killing middle class DC.

DC isn't designed for middle class people with kids. DC schools are terrible except for ward 3 which is the most expensive ward in the city.

Most people in DC don't have kids which is the real reason education doesn't get as much traction from council

DC hada middle class community for many generations! There are a number of Historical African American middle class and white middle class neighborhoods. Not to say all those middle class were college educated some are/were lots where government, union, teachers etc. We live in a middle class African American neighborhood. The schools were once excellent even though predominantly segregated. The 80s and 90s definitely damazed the schools as many people with kids decided to move out of the city then. While the grandparents stayed in the old neighborhood. Today things are shifting back with some midde class families staying or keeping family homes. But please don't say there is no middle class DC. There has always been.

You must be in Brookland? If not, curious where else is like this.

Our local school (Bunker Hill) apparently used to be a top performer. It was gutted, I'm not sure exactly when but probably for the reasons you mention.

No, we are not in Brookland. There are more of middle class neighborhoods in NE than Brookland. Of course Brookland has already become too prices for most middle class families that wish to buy a home now. Sadly is quickly becoming the case in surrounding NE middle class neighborhoods as well. The Amenities like groceries, small shopping, new library's, resturants, etc brought in by big the developer is long over due. But it is hard for long time hard working residents to process at times. Years and years of red lining with very little investment, development or support and managed to stay fairly nice and safe for a long time. Now developmers finally see it as a community worth spending money in which isn't a bad thing but there is a bit of bitterness that it has taken so long. And now the same middle class families that kept a lot of the area nice can't afford to stay or have their middle class kids and grandkids buy homes in the neighborhood. It is sad.

Honestly, expecting your children and grandchildren to buy homes in your exact neighborhood sounds like something that happens in small towns not a major metropolis.

Not necessarily. The median distance Americans live from their mothers is 18 miles. And lower income, less educated people tend to live closer. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/12/24/upshot/24up-family.html

From the linked article: "Over all, the median distance Americans live from their mother is 18 miles, and only 20 percent live more than a couple of hours’ drive from their parents. (Researchers often study the distance from mothers because they are more likely to be caregivers and to live longer than men.)

"To some extent, people’s proximity to their parents is a reflection of opportunity: The biggest determinants of how far people venture from home are education and income. Those with college and professional degrees are much more likely to live farther from their parents than those with a high school education, in part because they have more job opportunities in big cities, and especially if spouses are juggling the career aspirations of two professionals.

"Wealthier people can afford to pay for services like child and elder care, while low-income families are more likely to rely on nearby relatives. It seems likely that the more education someone has, the farther from home they go, said Robert A. Pollak, an economist at Washington University’s Olin Business School in St. Louis, who studies the economics of family. Middle-class, educated two-income couples — say, a schoolteacher and a nurse — seem to be more likely to live near parents
than those with higher-earning careers.

“It speaks to a class divide in the population,” Mr. Pollak said. “Particularly as you go further down the socioeconomic scale, people are living pretty close to their parents, and this means they’re able to provide help.” "

Back when DC was a backwater (most of its history) and then the crack-den of the Barry years, that was a reasonable expectation because a large portion of DC was lower middle class and poor.

That's no longer the case, and it's not going to go back those days ever again. It's the most highly-educated city per capita in the U.S. So, speaking to the class divide, it's not reasonable to expect for people to continue to think they live in Mayberry and can buy a house down the street from Aunt Bee. Not when a pair of GS-15s can pool their incomes and buy a house together with a 20 minute commute to their jobs by bike.