Allentown: The Billion Dollar Gamble

With this post I'm going to assume everyone by now is familiar with the billion dollar NIZ development going on in Allentown, Pa.

For those who need a quick primer, taxpayers will have loaned (when all is said and done) about $1 billion dollars to private developers in Allentown to make something of this city to try and turn it around.

I will expand on this after mentioning a few other of my prior posts concerning this matter.* On this post I asked, " How many of each and everyone of you readers have ever stayed overnight for a entertainment or sporting event?" In that same post I spoke of the difference between socialism and the NIZ. "With socialism, peoples' tax money is deferred and the government retains ownership. With the NIZ, peoples' tax money is deferred and certain private individuals retain ownership"' Which would you rather, one or the other or neither?

* In this post I challenged my readers to . see how many minorities they count in the videos.

* And finally on this post I pointed out data shows "as they age, Americans continue, in general, to shift to suburbs, and later smaller communities, looking to buy homes and start families." Also I pointed out the fact while Philadelphia may be a magnet for young people, they do not stay. I also listed 10 things I would have planned for Allentown instead.As you might have gathered I'm no fan of the plan. This is because I remain unconvinced of the outcomes.

Let's us suppose for one moment all the urban planners' dreams come true. A whole bunch of middle class workers in their prime age flock back into the city like moths to a flame. It has been estimated about 95,000 new residents over the next few years will be moving to the Lehigh Valley. Let suppose a majority of them do decide to live in Allentown. No doubt along with those dreams real estate prices will double (along with their taxes). I remain absolutely 100% convinced this won't happen, but let's go with that scenario for purposes of this discussion.

Here are the resultant questions that follow..* What happens to all those retired or living on limited incomes currently living here?

* Wouldn't many more of these new arrivals still need to commute? There's simply not enough jobs in center city to accommodate them all.

* What happens to the abandoned areas outside of Allentown? Not that this will ever happen, but what if? Wouldn't they then look like the abandoned ghettos of Allentown? Back to square one, eh?

* Assuming Allentown gets rich off the tax revenue by drawing businesses away from the burgs, how does this benefit Pennsylvania overall?

* One final question. If you had all the money you ever wanted, would you or your family personally really truly move to downtown Allentown even if all these urbanologist plans materialized?Summarizing
I truly believe when it comes right down to urban planners, there are mainly two kinds. One are those who are young idealists. The other who are paid or profit from this ideology.

What this all boils down to is a few things (1) How old you are. (2) Married with a family or not. (3) How much your able to afford. (4) Whether one profits from it.

In essence where one stands right now economically and family wise in their life depends on how one feels about it. Ideology is all fine and dandy but one has to look behind the scenes to see where these promoters actually choose to live for themselves and their own families. In most cases they are either young just starting out or making a living off the promotion of it.

Don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with making a city sparkle when residents take pride in their city and their residences. BUT.. the NIZ efforts are a far cry from a grassroots movement. It is forcibly taking money from peoples pockets to accommodate a certain number of well connected people to accomplish a agenda of their own.

Anyone disagreeing I offer this challenge. Will you put your own money and family behind your words by moving to downtown Allentown and it's public schools from outside the city?
     .. I didn't think so!