Larry Perl of The Sun has a follow-up story today that quotes assorted Towson-area community leaders about their reaction to Baltimore City buying homes in the county to house low-income residents without notifying those communities. Doug Donovan of The Sun had a story earlier this month highlighting the county’s concerns. The Sun also had an interesting editorial on the subject.
The issue at hand is the lack of notification, but isn’t it also just the fact that it’s happening at all? You’ve got families who want to escape bad neighborhoods and bad schools, and then you have the people who say they worked hard to afford homes in those better areas and they’re wary of this kind of program. Is that an ugly NIMBY attitude, or an understandable concern? What do you think?
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Should we be alerted when someone moves into a house paid for by their parents? Should “community notification” be required when divorcees cover housing expenses with alimony checks? On what grounds am I a “stakeholder” in how someone else pays their bills? Or should we just come out and say that we suspect those receiving public assistance have a predisposition to destructive behavior?
I wonder, what would be the purpose of the proposed notification and discussion? What would politicians and neighborhood associations do with this information? What would we do with the knowledge that a new neighbor may be benefiting from these programs? Would it change the way we treat this person? I’m genuinely curious.
All good questions, though not all are apples-to-apples. My point was that if Baltimore City procures housing in other counties, there should be some some sort of disclosure. Suspiscions are raised on many fronts, including the issues I mentioned. Are the people/families receiving public housing assistance also receiving other supports which would then be provided by Baltimore County? Maybe not, but those kinds of questions deserve answers. I’m not suggesting anyone to disclose names and locations, but there are absolutely logistical considerations.
I feel as though I am missing something here. Why is the City spending their money in the County to begin with. I would think they would attempt to find decent housing in the City for these folks. It is a sad reflection of what ‘the powers that be’ think of their own town.
Breaking the cycle of poverty is not going to end by housing these families in the County. It starts IN THE FAMILY and the attitudes they cultivate in their homes. I will admit I was disgusted with the Baltimore Sun article.
One Mom had 2 Kids by the age of 22 while living in her Mothers basement. She applied and received County housing paid for by the City taxpayers. Mom then went on to have 2 more children in 10 years. She is now living in a larger County home – paid for by the City taxpayers.
What lessons where learned ?
And while we are at it, I want a townhall meeting with the military before they spend tens of billions of dollars on a single piece vehicle, ship or plane. Otherwise it would be unconscionable to spend this money. And then I want a say in which doctors and hospitals are permitted to provide care under Medicare. And which medications and medical procedures are covered too. Again, unconscionable to spend those billions. And if I think someone is unworthy then I want to be able to exclude them from Medicare. Yes, those are my tax dollars and I want a say in every program that they are used to support. This is how it works, right?
It seems to me that no matter how one comments on this issue, s/he will quickly be identified as either a bleeding heart rube or a NIMBY jerk. This issue stirs up opinions about crime, racism, real estate values, the American Dream, breaking the cycle of poverty, municipal resources, and on and on…
Me? I think it is unconscionable to invest tens of millions of tax dollars in a program without including all relevant stakeholders in the decision-making process.
I think you’re right. I struggled over how to even frame the question!