Saturday, June 11, 2016

An Important Article on our City

Photo by Jeremy Slevin
A serious story about Racine. You may recognize this site on Memorial Drive. The linked story is long; it is political, but a necessary read about a town most of us love. It is tough for many of us to see, or believe the poverty that exists here, to see Racine through these eyes. 

It is very evident in the schools. On the last day of school, I personally walk around and collect left over notebooks, paper, pencils and pens from lockers. We sift through and collect backpacks, coats, gloves and shoes left behind by the more fortunate of our students. In the fall of next year, there will be kids with need... great need. They will be quietly thankful for the cast off items we share with them. 

Without proper change, and soon, we are the next Detroit. People need to pay attention to what is happening with our next generation. Change needs to happen at a high level. I believe our uneven trade laws are at the root of the problem. There is a want for quality, higher priced manufactured goods overseas. We aren't shipping enough quantity and getting proper return, which could spur growth of jobs. The story that people are lazy and lack something inside themselves only goes so far. Cutting the funds to schools and safety net programs will not solve the problems, only widen the gap.

https://talkpoverty.org/2016/06/10/paul-ryans-district-community-struggling/

"How do you take away half of our manufacturing jobs and then say poverty is some moral failing?"
--Kelly Gallaher 

2 comments:

  1. I spent most of my life near that historical neighborhood. I even remember seeing Army Tanks as a kid lined up on the railroad tracks along DeKoven Ave. THIS Is the type of progress GENERATION X wants. Not all of them of course, but many. For them, this Is the answer. MY position. It destroyed the CITY of my birth.

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  2. I don't believe that, Toad. I think people latch on to these ideas because they are sugar coated and sold as smooth as silk. There are a lot of power hungry, greedy people seeking office to only further their interests, and people have become too apathetic to do the work to find out what is really happening. Many of them are are spending too much time on digital self interest. And, sadly, many don't have the reading skills they need to go out and find the truth themselves.

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