Courthouse selection
Well, the good folks at GSA have saved a gentrified section of town in favor of disrupting the lives of the working poor. Not that I expected anything different from this administration, which caters to the rich and seems to have a real distain for anyone who might be struggling. Yes, let's displace single mothers and children from a relatively safe and clean environment. Mustn't inconvenience the DINKS at all.
Anyone look at the racial disparity between the sites? Looks like a discrimination case to me. Yes, I'll play the race card, because it is the right card. And I don't care if the regional administrator is an African-American Bush-loving ex-Harrisburger.
posted by Anniken Davenport, Esquire @ 5:25 AM
8 Comments:
Ah - I sure know how to get a reaction. And that is, after all, my goal. (Italy wasn't a vacation, actually. It was work.)
I never said that it was the DINKS who made GSA do anything - rather, it is the federal government's policy of putting the working poor last that most likely helped push the balance against Cumberland Court. DINKS and everyone else on Green just happened to benefit from the current administration's policies.
Sorry to cause any distress. I certainly wasn't implying that the Green Street area should have been taken over and above all other areas available. And there were plenty of other choices. And when all this was in the selection stages, I never favored one over the other - I thought all three interest groups should have stuck together and urged that neither be taken when a few blocks on the other side of the Market there are empty lots and abandoned houses. Now, that would have been a place where putting the courthouse would actually help the city. But that said, it is now over. And all I am saying is that when the government had to choose between a high rise tower housing the elderly and disabled, a subsidized apartment complex for the working poor and a largely middle class and business community, it chose to displace the working poor. It seems to me that those who have worked hard to get ahead (or who have been lucky as may be the case for some) have the means to easily relocate, while others don't have as easy a time moving.
OK - you guys aren't hearing me. I said none of the three neighborhoods should be chosen. But if it must be one, it should be the one where more people have the means to pick up and go. My last choice would be the elderly and disabled. That leaves two choices. . .
And everyone in the Green Street plan WOULD also get relocation assistance. Renters would get help as would owners, who would get the fair market value of their properties. That's how emminent domain works. Businesses would also get fair market value.
I suspect that the Green Street crowd would have kept the project blocked for years in litigation over what exactly is fair market value. That may be another reason it was not selected.
My impression - most people now don't care about the GSA decision.
Well, since the site with multiple owners wasn't picked, fair market value isn't an issue except for the owner of the rental complex.
I don't have any control over whether the federal government sets a fair fair market value - but there are plenty of attorneys who specialize in just this sort of compensation, so I think property owners would have made out OK. Look, I'm glad they don't have to move. I'm not glad others have to move. Heck, judging from the Patriot coverage, some Cumberland Court residents are more than willing to move, so maybe this whole discussion is moot.
And I'm the first to admit I don't want the courthouse in my literal backyard. But guess what - I won't get a penny for the loss I'm suffering. I get stuck with a tall terror target. I may have to move, and I won't get any compensation. So don't tell me I'm all about resentment of those with means.
Besides, shouldn't we all be happy now - the die is cast and no historic properties will be lost.
OK OK I'm a bit surprised at this reaction. No, I have not been wronged by any DINKS in life. Or anyone else. I'm sorry if my working class background colors my views of the world. I look at the inequity I see in the United States and simply don't see the opportunities readily available for the working poor that are available for the middle class. And I see that gap has been widening. So my sympathies are naturally with the poor and working class rather than the middle class and above.
So perhaps my attitude is colored by class concerns.
Jim - I don't understand the grilled cheese? Is it an idiom I don't know?
Thanks - I appreciate that. I was a little surprised, too. But I'm not backing down on my opinion. The fact is (and I have posted this weeks ago) I would have gladly allowed GSA to take my house and complex if it meant preserving a working class subsidized apartment complex. I have the means to go elsewhere without a lot of inconvenience (although I love my house) But GSA said our block is too small. It's not like I said Green Street should be sacrificed and wasn't willing to do the same myself.
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