The proper role and scope of government

[DanaC]

One of the problems with UK housing estates and US projects is that they end up as sink places into which most the troubled and alienated members of society descend. There are plenty of working-class and middle-class people who couldn't give a flying fuck about their neighbourhood, or the state of their gardens and homes. But in a sink estate the balance is skewed so that they can, if not carefully managed, become the majority culture.

Add to that a number of other factors: the stigma of an estate/project with a bad rep begins at a very, very young age. I remember very clearly when i was at school, there was an expectation of trouble from kids who attended from the Johnson Fold Estate. I can't be wholly sure, but from memory they were pretty shabbily treated sometimes. I doubt trouble makers who didn't have that tag were punished as harshly or as often as those who did. I have a very clear memory of one of those lads being forced to sit under the music teachers desk, blocked in by a chair. If he was going to act like an animal then she was going to treat him like one. We were 12 years old, can you imagine how humiliating that must have been?

This follows on into later life. Job applications from a known estate are prejudiced. There's some evidence to suggest that it can have an impact on things like sentencing in the event of criminal conviction.

Geographically such estates are often very separate from the mainstream. Exacerbating the sense cultual divorce. They often have significantly higher levels of unemployment and fewer opportunities to engage with other economic classes except in terms of the adversarial relationships forged between those in social housing and their landlords, those on benefits with the benefits advisors, those involved in minor crime with the police and criminal justice system.

One of the ways to try and get around that is a system called 'pepper potting'. Instead of building massive estates, separated from private housing by distance, style and access, social housing is set in amongst private housing. We've had quite a few developments in my borough, where some of the housing is intended for private sale, and some intended for social rent or half equity assistaed ownership. If you walk into that new build estate, you would not know which were the private houses and which not.

[ZenGum]

We have enough land, mostly, to do that.
In South Australia, the government organisation, the Housing Trust, builds regular (maybe a bit smallish and cheapish) houses which are rented out to people at social and income disadvantage. These houses are scattered amongst regular suburbs (although not the more expensive - aim for cheaper land). The residents usually stay long term, and many eventually buy the house from the government.
By and large, this avoids or reduces the problems associated with big "projects". There are still some bad neighborhoods, and the housing trust tenants are frequently involved, but nothing on the scale of the projects in US cities.

[TheMercenary]

This Cartoon Seemed Far-Fetched In 1948

[Ibby]

Ism INC. yeah, we ARE selling our country to corporations. What are YOU going to do about it, merc? What is your plan to fix the entirely legal but fundamentally corrupting flow of money to congress?

Originally Posted by Lawrence Lessig, "Republic Lost"

Does the fact that more than $1 billion was given [by Wall Street derivatives traders, to Newt's congress, Democrat and Republican alike,] affect your ability to believe that this insanely complicated area of regulatory policy was [de]regulated sensibly? Does it affect your confidence or trust in the system? Or can you honestly say that the regulatory mistakes of the past three decades were unrelated to this, the largest single sector of campaign and lobbying contributions in our government?

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Ibram

Ism INC. yeah, we ARE selling our country to corporations. What are YOU going to do about it, merc? What is your plan to fix the entirely legal but fundamentally corrupting flow of money to congress?

Elect someone willing to overhaul the tax law and turn it on it's head. That would be a good start.
Oh, and this:

[ZenGum]

Appealing, but with no pensions, congressfolks will have an even stronger incentive to cuddle up to lobby groups and such to make sure they get nice fat "consultancy" positions afterwards.

It isn't just the fact that Congressfolk are willing to take "campaign contributions" and such, it is also the fact that lobby groups are allowed to give them, and misuse that privilege.

I have an easy simple effective solution, which is to mumble mumble mublemumble.

[TheMercenary]

Give them a military style pension only after they have served 20 years, if they can get re-elected that many times.

[classicman]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

but with no pensions, congressfolks will have an even stronger incentive to cuddle up to lobby groups and such to make sure they get nice fat "consultancy" positions afterwards.

Doesn't matter ... Its not stopping them now.

[Gravdigr]

My Town - Working For Gov't Small Enough To Fit In Your Doghouse

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

I have an easy simple effective solution, which is to mumble mumble mublemumble.

Did you say we need to require all election campaigns to be waged with flat-rate public funds, no donations allowed at all? I mean, that's what I thought I heard, but it was hard with all that mumbling.

[BigV]

May I join your fantasy, CF? I'd like to restrict the content of those messages to truthful statements only.

ooooo fantasy...

[TheMercenary]

"Your" perceived "truth"? or the real truth?

[BigV]

Yes.

[TheMercenary]

Just checking.

[ZenGum]

No! I am Truthicus!