All things CoronaVirus

[Peter Brown]

Let's go back to work. Even Greenland is relaxing social distancing rules.

https://www.highnorthnews.com/en/update ... -greenland


The stock market up again today, another ho-hum 2.4%. Those market dummies don't read this board's dystopian predictions!

[CU88]

To hear the words “the authority is total” pass the lips of our chief executive was jarring, unwelcome, and dangerous. Now, as ever, “L’état, c’est moi” does not translate well into English.

https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/04/ ... snt-total/

[MDlaxfan76]

Not even Corona can slow down Baltimore:

https://foxbaltimore.com/news/coronavir ... crime-down

Isn't the new rule we loudly take to the Internet and blame the politician in charge? Who is the Mayor of this city and what party does he belong to?

Oh also, Ron DeSantis doing better than expected...where are the apologies?

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local ... -be-lower/

It's not the politician in charge's fault.
It's not 6 decades of democratic leadership.
It's everyone else's fault Baltimore sucks.
Oh, and a lack of money. There's not enough money to throw at the problems any more.

If you were to poll the Democrats here, is there even a shred of doubt that the answer to every one of Baltimore's ills is 'more money'? $2,000,000,000 can only get you so far in a city with a declining population! Even Catherine Pugh couldn't make it on that!!

Yup. And I also learned that it’s not the politicians fault- but the fault of the people who are leaving the city.

They have some nerve for not wanting to have their property damaged/stolen, not risking bodily harm while going about their daily business, or wanting to put their kids in the failing schools. Jerks. Ruining it for everyone else.

No, not their 'fault'.
These are legitimate human reactions to the situation.
I don't hear that at all. Unless it is some of those who have left imagining such critique?

But it is indeed, largely, the fault of the systematic inequities, the redlining, and the tax jurisdictions that encourage such movement.

It might be possible to say that is the 'fault' of county/state taxpayers, as a group, not wanting to support the city, living in their 'gated' enclaves. But that's a different argument from that they shouldn't have made the individual decision to what is best for their family.

Could you explain this point more? I don’t want to make any assumptions about what you’re saying here.I’m asking in earnest- What systematic inequities? It seems like Baltimore should be able to row in the same direction if it wanted to.

I thought Redlining as a practice is highly illegal and has been for years.
As far as Baltimore tax jurisdictions are concerned- why would you choose to live in a higher taxed jurisdiction if you can get a comparable home one street over, for half the taxes? This is the case all along the city/county border. And the ones drawing the tax lines are the politicians themselves.
And taxpayers complain about where their money is spent all the time. Again, it is the politicians who allocate it.
Baltimore, Baltimore County and MD as a whole is overwhelmingly democratic. Seems like a concerted effort to fix the city could be accomplished if that was really a goal or a priority.
What am I missing?

Actually, you are 'missing' quite a lot, but very understandably. Most folks who haven't studied the issues don't understand the complexities, and history.

Yes, redlining became illegal, but not until after many decades of reality. Government sponsored redlining went first, but private redlining still persists today in various forms. There's still 'directing' by real estate brokers and mortgage brokers. Lots of research indicates this still persists, albeit not as blatantly so as a few decades ago. But certainly heavily so way, way later than we might think. Just look at the demographics of the York Rd-Dulaney Valley north corridor vs the Owings Mills corridor.

But that's just for those who otherwise could actually move. You then have the impact on those left behind.

Cost/availability of mortgages, insurance of various types, cost of food, all sorts of differences that are based on the neighborhood (de facto ethnicity/poverty) not the specific person's risk or income.

And that's not including the hidden evil. Lead paint, lead pipes, have been poisoning residents, disproportionately, in the most vulnerable aging, city neighborhoods. And that lead has been shown to dramatically lower educational capabilities, permanently. Permanent damage to the brain.

Then ripple these impacts over generations.

But those who were mobile fled to the suburbs. Yes, much of it 'white flight' in the '60's and '70's, but not just white, also black upwardly mobile flight, albeit not to the same suburban neighborhoods. The white flight began much earlier than some might think, made possible by the highway construction of the late '50's. Baltimore never embraced the sort of public transport that would enable lower income workers the same access. Think there's a reason why there's no stop in Ruxton? You betcha. It certainly wasn't because professionals wouldn't have been happy to hop on the commuter rail into downtown...nope, they decided better to use their cars. And that was a relatively recent choice, not ancient history.

Where you are right is that Dems have typically controlled the surrounding jurisdictions and the State legislature, most Gov's as well. But Dems are NOT all the same in Maryland. I'm sure you're aware of that.

And the 'money' has controlled the Baltimore political system to their personal benefit. Not to the benefit of the population in Baltimore, their personal benefit.

One of the brutally wrong decisions back in the '70's and '80's was to raise residential taxes, rather than commercial taxes. (Cities like Boston and San Fran, both Dem strongholds and in 1970 in worse shape than Baltimore, went the opposite direction). That choice was a short term boon to developers, but accelerated flight to the lower cost burbs.

Running a city with an aging infrastructure is much, much more costly than managing urban infrastructure, so the balance of payments of county and city was suppressed by county voters who didn't want to pay higher taxes to take care of neighborhoods they didn't live in, just drove past.

A lot going on in all this, and I'm sure I've missed some pieces.

Didn't even get to the ravages of the drug trade, the impacts of generations of young men who die or are incarcerated disproportionately for crack relative to coke. And the 'money' is just fine with keeping that traffic and violence isolated to some city neighborhoods, with suburban users driving through. Out of sight, out of mind...except as a foil.

ugh.

Job discrimination was legal until the early 1970’s. Legal.

Yup. And it certainly didn't end.

Appreciate the insight and your POV.

As a former Baltimore City resident for about 10 years, and still a taxpayer and homeowner, I disagree with a few points, but...IMO, the personal corruption in Baltimore has been more of a detriment than the things you've mentioned. There were/are too many hucksters in Baltimore who were/are lining their own pockets instead of working on the issues faced.

When do you think we should see the uptick in the City from the removal of redlining and job discrimination? We're moving on 50 years - about 2 generations since it was outlawed. What are the low hanging fruit Baltimore can do to make the most impact to the most of its residents the quickest?

I quite agree about the corruption, have posted about that previously...but let's be clear, the big money paid for that corruption.

On redlining, unfortunately it's still de facto happening. And the legacy effects of its impact are wide reaching. And, that lead thing is very, very much part of the ongoing reality.

So, it's not easily moved beyond.

On your last question, which is indeed constructive, clearly Baltimore has a many faceted dilemma. Too small a population to support its economic needs through taxes at rates comparable to "competitive" jurisdictions, and dynamics that discourage the success of that population. Obviously safety and education are huge issues, so too public health, housing, etc. Poverty and the drug trade are monster issues in some neighborhoods. Can't find enough good police officers, after all who wants to work in a corrupt police department and be paid no more than police in less dangerous beats?

I do think the right Mayor and the right Governor could rally the State populace to support the City in a concerted turnaround. I think Hogan could have been and may still be that Governor, haven't had the right Mayor as yet. It wouldn't be easy, though, as there's deep seated resistance, much of it racially based, in the suburbs and rural parts of the State.

All sorts of levers they could pull together. I'd be a big fan of lowering the residential tax rate, and a new 'dollar house' program to soak up the large inventory of distressed but still good stock housing. I'd level the rest, make room for wide swaths of parks and amenities that would have long term appeal.

Can go on and on.

It's not impossible.

[MDlaxfan76]

So no one stays in Baltimore generation after generation?

No one does not = everyone. The people that move up and out are are replaced. Like a cockroach....That’s how it works at the bottom.... Some never get out. A social scientists can probably give you a number.

EDIT: https://nlihc.org/resource/report-marks ... ty-program

That's fundamentally correct of the most destitute areas of any city.
There's actually quite a lot of turnover at the bottom.
But some remain stuck.

Upward mobility has a lot more friction than down.

[MDlaxfan76]

To hear the words “the authority is total” pass the lips of our chief executive was jarring, unwelcome, and dangerous. Now, as ever, “L’état, c’est moi” does not translate well into English.

https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/04/ ... snt-total/

Good for the National Review.

Some conservatives remain.

[Laxgunea]

Let's go back to work. Even Greenland is relaxing social distancing rules.

https://www.highnorthnews.com/en/update ... -greenland


The stock market up again today, another ho-hum 2.4%. Those market dummies don't read this board's dystopian predictions!

I bet Greenland is happy we didn't buy them.

[CU88]

Let's go back to work. Even Greenland is relaxing social distancing rules.

https://www.highnorthnews.com/en/update ... -greenland


The stock market up again today, another ho-hum 2.4%. Those market dummies don't read this board's dystopian predictions!

I bet Greenland is happy we didn't buy them.

[Jim Malone]

Unfortunately private redlining is still ongoing in more places than one would know.

NY's Long Island Newsday unleashed a damning expose earlier this year.

Real estate giants subpoenaed in housing discrimination probe

https://www.newsday.com/news/region-sta ... 1.42268601

[RedFromMI]

NY is adding probable cases to their death totals:

New York City on Tuesday added 3,778 fatalities to its count of COVID-19 deaths by including cases in which the presence of the viral disease was likely at fault — even if it had not been confirmed with a test.

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/nycs ... ases-added

[calourie]

To hear the words “the authority is total” pass the lips of our chief executive was jarring, unwelcome, and dangerous. Now, as ever, “L’état, c’est moi” does not translate well into English.

https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/04/ ... snt-total/

Good for the National Review.

Some conservatives remain.

Nice to hear the Constitution still exists as well. Many of those currently in positions of power look like they could use a read (or reread, whichever applies) of the document.

On a separate note, one of my lifelong friends, best man at my wedding, was just diagnosed with the virus. NYC resident, administrator at Columbia. Hasn't gotten down into his lungs, hoping for the best. A different beast when it's near to home. Trust all who haunt these boards are well as are those they care about regardless of their political leanings. We will get through this thing together even if we are brought along kicking and screaming while we do so.

[MDlaxfan76]

NY is adding probable cases to their death totals:

New York City on Tuesday added 3,778 fatalities to its count of COVID-19 deaths by including cases in which the presence of the viral disease was likely at fault — even if it had not been confirmed with a test.

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/nycs ... ases-added

Similar to what the Chinese eventually did.
Much bigger increase for the Chinese though, presumably because they were so overwhelmed they really couldn't test fast enough at the beginning.

[MDlaxfan76]

It's a good time to close down the World Health Organization, right?

[CU77]

From mathematician (and hedge-fund refugee) Cathy O'Neill, aka mathbabe:

10 Reasons to Doubt the Covid-19 Data

The pandemic’s true toll might never be known.

https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/opinion/a ... id-19-data

[youthathletics]

From mathematician (and hedge-fund refugee) Cathy O'Neill, aka mathbabe:

10 Reasons to Doubt the Covid-19 Data

The pandemic’s true toll might never be known.

https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/opinion/a ... id-19-data

Interesting opinion piece.

TLD would argue she’s wrong because it depends on zip codes.

[MDlaxfan76]

He's flipping out again...can't stand to let a reporter finish a question, can't go 10 seconds into a question.

[Trinity]

King Donald just handed power back to his loyal governors. He’s only here to help. Good luck, America.

[dislaxxic]

Stunning numbnuttery, even for THIS guy.

..

[CU88]

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump

China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!

4:18 PM · Jan 24, 2020·Twitter for iPhone

[Peter Brown]

Let's go back to work. Even Greenland is relaxing social distancing rules.

https://www.highnorthnews.com/en/update ... -greenland


The stock market up again today, another ho-hum 2.4%. Those market dummies don't read this board's dystopian predictions!

I bet Greenland is happy we didn't buy them.

If we did buy them, I’d volunteer to be their leader.

[njbill]

NY is adding probable cases to their death totals:

New York City on Tuesday added 3,778 fatalities to its count of COVID-19 deaths by including cases in which the presence of the viral disease was likely at fault — even if it had not been confirmed with a test.

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/nycs ... ases-added

How long til Trump tweets that Cuomo is doing this to make the numbers look bad in order to make Trump look bad?