Reply to Failing Schools Almost Impossible to "Turnaround"

Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools

Reply to "Failing Schools Almost Impossible to "Turnaround""

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
I paid the middle-aged black woman who sold me my house $450k when she paid $150 20 years earlier. And, yep, she's living in the suburbs now. She lives right near her church. She's closer to her work. She's got more than double the amount of space. She's probably going to retire a decade earlier than she would have.

If you want to talk to the person responsible for "gentrification" and "displacement" you probably want to talk to her and the hundred thousand other middle-class black folk who abandoned the city in droves leaving a massive hole that's been filled by multi-ethnic newcomers.[/quote]

This could apply to any DC homeowners, irrespective of ethnicity, who sold their home of 20 years and moved to a less costly, more convenient location.

I assume this was her own decision, and not part of a  plan to concentrate poor people in the suburbs for their own good.

Maybe in 20 years, you'll sell the same house for even a bigger profit.[/quote]

Obviously it was her own choice. And obviously it's not part of a "Plan". But it's pretty comical to talk about "gentrification" and "displacement" when we're largely talking about people making rational choices about where they want to live. Particularly when it's stupidly cast as "white newcomers" forcing out blacks who somehow have a more legitimate claim to the city.

As far as "concentrating poor people in the suburbs" that's a complete mischaracterization, and it's hilariously contrary to reality. There is a massive concentration of black folks now. That concentration is in a few neighborhoods of the city. And it's incredibly damaging for those poor people. It's only by giving them the opportunity to move to neighborhoods of low concentration that we can break up mass poverty.

Here's an idea: increase housing subsidies and give more generous portable vouchers rather than placement in shitholes like Barry Farms and Potomac Gardens. Gee, I wonder if these people would rather be living in a cockroach infested apartment there, or in a three bedroom townhouse in Woodbridge?
[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics