Poor People's Initiative Revisted

"A city that isn't growing is dying,"and our beloved city, The Greatest City on Earth (Baltimore City) is slowly becoming a ghost town. As we all should be aware of our population has drop from 950,000 in 1950 to 621,000 today. It is estimated that 20,000 vacant buildings and lots take up space, and more than one house in eight is vacant.

Just last year, authorities indicted 48 members of the Black Guerrilla Family gang, accusing some of violence that includes 10 killings. Law enforcement alleged that the gang operated around Green Mount Cemetery, on Oliver's western border. As a direct result of this shrinkage, along with our ever present systematically, repressive educational element, compressed tax bases, increased crime, unemployment, tight municipal budgets and abandoned neighborhoods- crime has taken its toll. In fear of the safety of our children and loved ones we end up taking our families to different communities for fun, safe indoor activities, and thus taking our money elsewhere.

However Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake wants to attract 10,000 families to the city within a decade. "Our city officials, like most people, love to reap where they never sowed, city officials alone determine which depopulated neighborhoods are worth saving; what blocks should be torn down and rebuilt." Yet they demand a rent of its most neediest citizens in the form of involuntary compliance with the waste of our hard earned tax dollars spent on ineffective programs, insufficient resources to operate and sustain the few remaining programs that actually effect positive change, and certainly little to no access provided to our current families who would certainly benefit the most.

New housing provides jobs for construction workers and gains investors more capital for further development. However, much of the cost of increasing human habitat is borne by those who already live in the area: their taxes must increase to subsidize population growth. With a shift in priorities, maintaining and improving existing buildings could provide as many jobs as new construction provide. Many economists say that business needs a growing population to be successful. But in reality, money buys things, not people. For example: if you want to do well selling shoes, one Imelda Marcos is better than a whole bus filled with reality stars of any of our own modern day minstrel shows. The number of feet to wear the shoes is irrelevant if they have no money to buy them. Business doesn't need more people to prosper, business needs people to prosper more. Just like our city!