Steve Mensing, Editor
♦25% of the folks living in Salisbury dwell in poverty according to U.S. Census stats. Before more urban flight takes place here and city’s undeniable poverty mounts further, the city would best explore alternative ways out of this serious city killing dilemma. At this point, Salisbury needs to step out of whatever they are employing and uncover unique and proven ways to haul itself up.
Currently I’m researching various solutions and tradeoffs that small cities, similar to Salisbury’s fingerprint, employed to either lift themselves out of poverty or neutralize its “soaring” trajectory. I will couple the most likely fits for Salisbury and include some of my novel approaches. These solutions and tradeoffs will arrive in a multi-part series starting in early January 2014: “The Rowan Free Press Plan to Lift Salisbury, NC Out of Poverty”.
What I’m suggesting next is cosmetic and will only have a small impact on Salisbury’s growing poverty stats. Perhaps city hall might reconsider some of their previous stratagems for bellying up to the Federal poverty trough. For example, all those forcible annexations the city did of poor neighborhoods and The County High Rise Prison. These areas, while they add to the city’s poverty grant status, also pump up Salisbury’s poverty statistics.
Which is more important: entitlements or jobs? High poverty statistics drive away potential businesses and individuals, with a pioneering spirit, willing to set anchor here. Entitlements only keep people in the survival mode and don’t lift them out of poverty. Decent paying jobs do. Through voluntary de-annexation you can rid yourself of some of those impoverished neighborhoods and the stats they drag behind them. You can do the forcibly annexed a favor by releasing them from their tax burdens which many can’t pay. Besides, some of these folks never received city services. It would be a kind gesture not to be billed for storm water runoff fees where no storm water runoffs exist. Some of the forcibly annexed don’t even have water and sewer lines out to their properties.
I’m sure the County High Rise prisoners would enjoy some form of token freedom even though its nothing they can lay their hands on. On the day of their de-annexation and symbolic freedom, you can grant them full honorary pardons with these words embossed on them: “Your Pals, Doug Paris and the Salisbury City Council“.
Salisbury’s current poverty statistics can be found here:
http://rowanfreepress.com/salisbury-nc-statistics/
