Raise the Hammer

Quote, "If there's one industry Hamilton has invested in with great success, it's the poverty industry..."

I think we all know that there Is a Poverty Industry, much of it Government generated. We assisted single Moms on welfare in the '80s, got them ready & confident enough to return to school, only to have their welfare workers tell them. 'It was the biggest mistake of their lives to get out of The System. & - If you won't think of yourself, then think of your children.' The Poor are a 'Market just like any other.

Hamilton has marketed itself on CHEAP for decades, esp. after the heavy industry was in decline. Who are it's residents to argue with Hamilton's current marketing gimmick? If you work in Hamilton for a company with branch offices throughout Ontario or Canada you probably earn substantially less than your counterparts in the other offices. Cuz "That's the we like it -uh hu8h uh huh." How Do you get a middle class, let alone an upper middle class, to buy those condos @ The Connaught with the stainless steel appliances ;-) (that we don't make anymore) unless you import your condo buyers? From Where?

Quote: "To D Shield's comment - I'm at a loss as to why anyone who has been reading these threads believes the contributors are 'dumping on the poor'. The point has been made time and again - low income ghettos do not serve anyone well, least of all people with little money."

Well, here's a quote from 2 inches up the thread: "My heart goes out to all the business owners in the downtown core. Not only are they batteling with the recession and high unemployment, they will soon be fighting with even more slow moving scooters, bums and scum. I'm sorry, but I can't go downtown to eat. My appretite mysteriously disappears as soon as I get out of my car. A good diet, yes, but definately not a place I would take my friends or family out to for a night of fun.

The city should charge admission to Gore Park.

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You don't find the words Scum,& Bum. offensive? I don't know these people, & I suggest the author doesn't either. Personally, I worry more about those scooters that do zero to 60 in 5 seconds. :-) As long as people won't eat or shop downtown, might I suggest they are doing their part in bankrupting the business owners that they pretend to sympathize with?

Mixed housing is the best solution-Always. Do you think that walled enclaves for the rich make any more sense? But I guess you think that it doesn't cost you money so it's O.K...? I does cost you money.

Right now @ Jarvis & Shuter in Toronto, The Salvation Army are building an 8 story, 1/2 block long high rise for men in difficulty. To the East are Ontario housing bldgs., 1 block East & immediately to the South of the Sally Ann high rise are many luxury condo's & apartments. It's not important that planners don't see a problem with it. Maybe the important thing is the people who are buying/renting the luxury units don't have a problem with it.

Quote: "Yes downtown has good access to social services and yes the suburbs are not well connected. But that's no reason for us to maintain the status quo. You get what you build for and right now downtown Hamilton services one main industry - the poverty industry. Ask yourself - is this good for people in poverty? Is this good for Hamilton?"

No it's not, but do you think that City Hall, or Government on any level is going to listen any harder once people are shunted out to the burbs. How many debates have we had here about Public Transit & LRT? (I'm assuming most of the people here are neither poor not homeless. :-) Public transit still sux, & it costs more. We still don't have LRT., not even in the construction phase.

(Why Why Why do people always see "The Poor" as great consumers of social services? Many people are Simply Poor, not mixed up, not doped up, & not alcholics. Their kids are fine. This is another stereotype that needs to get nipped in the bud. Stop playing the blame game! If you raised 3 kids on your own on waitress wages & educated them, chances are you are poor, but that doesn't make you an addict, scum or a bum! I can't help it if the only poor you Choose to notice are ranting on a corner.)

'Relocation' will serve one purpose however, to get concentrations of the poor out of the City core. These folks will no longer be able to vote as a block for people who Might be able to instigate change & help them. More than social services, there are no more hospitals outside the downtown core. If you want to admit that a sizable number of the poor are also the sick ( Most Stats seem to confirm that)where are these people to go for treatment & how are they to get there?

Heavy industry Always brings with it chronic illness. These might explain the number of scooters downtown. If these people got sick working to build this City, who are you to tell them to 'Get Out & take your scooter with you'?

Given the choice between passing some guy carrying on a conversation with himself on the sidewalk at night, or walking near Hess St. after dark, avoiding a bunch of middle class drunks...? Give me the the harmless monologue geezer any day. I'm not going to get any trouble from him.

(P.S. Some of the people who actually live in the Hess St. area are not so happy about it's transition to 'The Entertainment District'. They don't care how much money it makes for other people. They don't like cleaning up the barf, blood, garbage, feces & urine on their properties. Some of those suburban middle class drunks act worse than the stereotypical Homeless. But, if we see the home owners & tenants there as poor ( at least relative to us) then who really cares what they think, either? It's a slippery slope indeed!)