Reply #26: The incredible disconnect. [View All]

[The Backlash Cometh]

And it all started with Community Development planning. They intentionally built upgraded communities thinking it would be cheaper for the city because they wouldn't have to provide public service for rich people. They say as much in their Comprehensive planning. I paraphrase, but they say that rich people don't need public services or recreational areas, because they will carpool their kids out to take private lessons somewhere else.

And cutting back on public service is a priority in the Republican plan to minimize the need for government. So they create hardships for families, especially those who live in private developments. One of the biggest oversights is public transportation for school age kids, particularly for the middle schooler and high school age group, because they figure the rich will carpool, or buy the kid a car. And that is indeed what is happening, cutting down on the number of kids using buses. But it is a hostile way to push people out of the nest, and people don't forget. This is all negative PR for the City and they don't even realize it. The City becomes a source of negative experiences and those that can afford it, minimize their interaction with the community because of it.

But what the asshat City people don't see, is the hardship this is creating for everyone. People buy homes based on those services. If a single parent can't be sure their kid will get transportation to school, they won't buy in the area. But the morans don't see this.

Recreation is worse. Far worse.

They cut down on public paid recreation, making it too expensive for families with children to figure out how to keep their kids busy AND interacting with kids in their own community. And all the white haired men in the community wonder why all the families with young children are moving out of state. Florida is being built for the old, not the young.

And the poor construction of these McMansion developments on private streets behind private gates is a scandal waiting for a competent newspaper reporter. I'm not talking about the houses. I'm talking about the infra-structure. The City has allowed them to be built with below minimum quality. Actually, "minimum" is the key word. It might be better to say that communities built in public areas are built with "better than minimum requirements." That's how they get around it. Linguistics. They have designated different building codes for private versus public communities. Public communities actually get better quality streets and retention ponds. These McMansion dwellers don't have a clue that they paid big bucks for a community that will be a maintenance headache down the road.

But you can see what happens over the long run. They move out quickly once they figure it out. So the community churns, and never sets roots. You have old people left, wondering where the young men are that can help them during times of crisis, like hurricanes. They've moved to another state where their wives and children are happier.

This is what a Republican community creates for themselves. And all the white haired men sit around sucking on their cigars, drinking their Scotch Whiskeys and wonder where the money people went. Why aren't young working families buying in their hostile, poorly designed communities?