I saw an article in the NY Times about Lancaster, California, which has seen an influx of Section 8 renters since the real estate crash. The mayor of Lancaster has long contended that they have been used as a dumping ground for Los Angeles' poor, without being given any wayto cope with the associated problems. The mayor's family received some public assistance for a time when he was growing up. Because Lancaster had hired inspectors to crack down on violations such as extra people living illegally in Section 8 housing, they are now being sued by civil rights groups for discrimination. The mayor calls the groups "poverty pimps".
What is interesting is the comments they get. Predictably, some are calling the residents racist, and some are being sanctimonious with suggestions that residents reach out, help their neighbors feel valued, etc. What I find interesting of course is that anyone close to the problem, actually living in an area like that or knowing someone who does, is sympathetic to the mayor and Lancaster citizens and what they are trying to do. I personally find it galling that someone would actually tell a person that they should take responsibility for socializing their adult neighbors. I mean, who does that? I think newspapers like the Times promote these fairy-tale notions some people have by using headlines like "Seeking a Better Life, Section 8 Renters Encounter Resistance". That's an editorial. The papers around here use that same phrase "seeking a better life", so you know it isn't coming from the renters themselves. And why is the paper ascribing motivation to the renters, and not those already living there, such as "seeking to maintain a decent life, homeowners crack down on Section violators"?
I think governments need to figure out what to do about so many people unable to maintain themselves, without pushing the problem on to particular communities to deal with.

Anybody notice the white cadilac escalades, with privacy windows, that were common to the city streets, now in rotterdam???? Some have been seen driving/parking at some section 8 housing. Probably just a family member...

Quoted from Madam X

Seeking a Better Life, Section 8 Renters Encounter Resistance". That's an editorial. The papers around here use that same phrase "seeking a better life", so you know it isn't coming from the renters themselves. And why is the paper ascribing motivation to the renters, and not those already living there, such as "seeking to maintain a decent life, homeowners crack down on Section violators"?
I think governments need to figure out what to do about so many people unable to maintain themselves, without pushing the problem on to particular communities to deal with.

How does one think a 'better life' is living off of welfare, in section 8 housing, buying food with food stamps, heating theirhomes with taxpayer money, no jobs, a school district that can't graduate 50% of their students, the daily sound of gun shots and the sound/sight of violent gangs??? What the hell was it like where they came from????