2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Marylanders-dont-like-martin-omalley-so-why-would-the-rest-of-america?? [View all]Liberal_Stalwart71
(20,450 posts)ungovernable city. It has an myriad of problems that existed decades before O'Malley entered office. I work for HUD and my life's work has centered on poverty, unemployment, homelessness...all the social and economic ills that often plague cities like Baltimore. These cities are ungovernable. There's very little one can do because the issues are much more complex. They've become endemic. You're dealing with intergenerational poverty and people become hopeless. Industries leave the city and take valuable jobs with them. That destroys the communities and the people residing in them. There are so many problems--each one of them intertwined with the next.
As much as I love and admire Bernie Sanders, I guarantee you that neither he nor anyone else could've fixed everything wrong with Baltimore in a short 4- or 8-year period.
That's like expecting President Obama to swoop down to Chicago and cure crime, poverty, joblessness, homelessness, etc. These issues are far too complex.
We need to start thinking much more critically than we do.
I don't have all the answers. None of us do; however, mayors can do things to lure investment back to the city. And Baltimore had been turning around. Even in Sandtown and Winchester neighborhoods--some of the worst communities imaginable--progress was being made. However, the housing and economic crises set progress back some, and once again, communities fell into despair. Now, that's going to take a long time to repair and there's no short-term solution.
But to blame one person or one set of circumstances? That's quite unfair. These issues are far too complex.