StanH
Council Member
I grew up at 2368 Lovejoy Street in Pomona, California. My dad drove to the LA area every day where he started as a supply clerk for a silk screen supply company. My mom never worked. I'm the youngest of five, having three older sisters and my brother being the oldest of the five. My dad slowly built a career, then started a business at the Lovejoy home. We moved from there in 1971 when I was 7 years old. I still stay in touch with my -GASP!- black friends from up the street there.
I would LOVE to see what happens when all those programs are taken away. At first, chaos. Then quickly, reality would set in. And people would realize they now have to stand on their own. They would work, network, unleash their potential, and the 'hood would become a better place to live.
We heard these doom and gloom predictions from you people during the welfare reform debate in the 90s- people and families were going to starve in the streets!
Never happened.
I would LOVE to see what happens when all those programs are taken away. At first, chaos. Then quickly, reality would set in. And people would realize they now have to stand on their own. They would work, network, unleash their potential, and the 'hood would become a better place to live.
We heard these doom and gloom predictions from you people during the welfare reform debate in the 90s- people and families were going to starve in the streets!
Never happened.
Really Stan? I know Callie pretty well.. specifically which inner city neighborhood did you grow up in and what did your Dad do? Did you have a Mom and a Dad who stayed together? Brothers and sisters? Honestly, i'm curious.
Have the programs solved any problems? No.. but there are plenty of case studies as to their effectiveness and how much worse things might be without them.
I would not want to see what would happen if you suddenly took ALL those programs away.. Head Start, YMCA, Planned Parenthood, mentoring programs, Big Brothers, etc etc etc.
My guess would be general chaos. It's bad enough now to motivate those kids to get out of those neighborhoods. Some will, most won't.
Looking after people is a basic tenant of a civilized society. Forget about the human part.. the compassion and desire to not see people die in the street. If you let it go to hell, we ALL pay.. more prisons, dead cops, higher insurance rates... you know, pesky inconvenient stuff like that. : )