Rich Town, Poor Town

In Georgia, a wealthy (and predominantly white) portion of Fulton County (which includes Atlanta) wants to secede and form 'Milton County'. Here's a pithy summary of the issues:

Supporters say it is a quest for more responsive government in a county with a population greater than that of six states. Opponents say the measure is racially motivated and will pit white against black, rich against poor.

Or, y'know, both. They obviously do want a 'more responsive government'; the problem is that they define that as a government that isn't also responding to poor (black) people.

And just so we Bay Areans don't start to feel too superior (instead of just superior enough), we have our own embarrassment:

A group of residents in the pricey Marin County community of Strawberry are mobilizing against an affordable housing plan by the renowned charity Habitat for Humanity, saying it would blight their neighborhood.

The group is convinced that the plan to build four three-bedroom units of low-income housing in their neighborhood would result in increased traffic and parking congestion and lower property values.

There was no organized opposition to the development until Habitat for Humanity got involved. Four units of affordable housing...and the opponents have raised $100,000 to fight it.

To get a sense of what lovely people they are, here are a couple of quotes from one of them:

"Habitat for Humanity goes into blighted neighborhoods and fixes them up. Here they are going into an enhanced neighborhood and blighting it," said Bill Duane, a 58-year-old resident of Bay Vista Drive, near the proposed site. "I'm not against low-cost housing, but this is social engineering. The county does not have the right to choose my neighbors."

***

"The idea that everybody is entitled to an affordable house wherever they want one is not valid," Duane said. "I would like to live in Cannes. I would like to live in Palm Beach. Everybody's got wishes, but that's not the way life is."

Now, I'm assuming that Mr. Duane doesn't live in Palm Beach or Cannes because he can't afford a home there--not because the people of Palm Beach or Cannes have told him he isn't allowed to. Habitat for Humanity (and the developer and the county) have worked out a way that a few families can afford to live in Strawberry. As far as the opponents are concerned, that doesn't matter. The opponents are trying to tell them they just aren't allowed.

The first Duane quote captures the essence of both of these stories. He really believes he has the right to choose his neighbors...and so do the residents of 'Milton County'. Class stratification may have become the norm in this country, but it isn't a constitutional right--no matter what these fuckwads seem to think.

Not yet, anyway. Someday, probably...but not yet.

[That's all, folks]