RALEIGH, N.C. - eTradeWire -- One must hand it to Sir Walter's city for its audacity. Under the banner of 'affordability,' they plot to displace those who cannot afford a square meal, let alone a square apartment!

The fine folk at WRAL.com inform us that the city plans to add 160 "affordable" units, with rents as low as $568 per month. This may sound reasonable to the privileged, but for the poor living in Moore Square, it might as well be the price of a manor in Mayfair!

Such a person, working two jobs and making just over $2,000 per month, relies on city buses. To qualify for the $568 apartment, they need $1,700 up front. If they had that, the affluent would have already claimed all the "affordable" units.

Affordable, indeed. Such "affordable housing" is certainly not an option for those the city wishes to conveniently relocate to some other corner of the kingdom, far from polite society.

Exhibit A: Raleigh's police have begun logging complaints about panhandling like they're cataloging fine wine. There's no crime—just the presence of the poor, daring to ask for alms in a city that prefers them out of sight.

Exhibit B: The city's unsightly encampments (encrochments of the poor upon private property), those last bastions of refuge for the destitute, are now under siege by the noble Raleigh police, who deliver their oh-so-gracious "verbal warnings." And what follows, pray tell? The poor, driven out with nowhere to go, nowhere to sleep, and no way to go except by foot. Their homes—such as they are—are destroyed in the name of progress

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Exhibit C: The GoRaleigh Bus, that sancturary of the poor when it's hot, cold, or raining, has begun charging fares once again. The city offers free passes for the young and old but not the "income-challenged" riders. Without a means of transportation—no fare— there is no ride. No ride, no job; no job, no housing. A marvellous circle of failure, meticulously designed by those in power.

In truth, Raleigh seeks not to provide affordable housing, but to cleanse Moore Square of the poor, so the city may be fit for the well-to-do. This is not progress—it is gentrification and segregation. Ah, Raleigh's esteemed leaders, do you think the Almighty hasn't noticed?

"You tax the poor. I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins." (Amos 5:11-12)

Let us raise a glass to Raleigh, the city that offers affordable housing while sweeping the poor into the gutters. Quite the performance.

http://pirate-preacher.com/

Yours most sincerely,
Larry the Lubber