Minneapolis - a town without pity...

 

 

 

"No it isn't very pretty what a town without pity can do..."

Town without Pity

Gene Pitney

My family knows a bit about the homeless issue. Not a lot, but just a bit. This past year my wife and I have volunteered at a local homeless teen drop in center. My youngest daughter works in homeless outreach downtown. My oldest daughter works in social services just north of here. Two of my cousins work with the homeless locally. Another cousin manages a food shelf just south of Duluth.

Our favorite cock-eyed optimist Mayor of Minneapolis never really wants to talk about the "soft underbelly" of her town. The people who live there that are in need of much, tend to get in the way of the "Brag Minneapolis" campaign. The Mayor has done an excellent job in attracting young Millennials and Yuppies into town. The upward mobility crowd. The kind who love to take trains and live vertically. But the homeless and near homeless are presenting a persistent and growing problem for her.

And why are so many homeless today? The reasons are varied and stretch across our great plain. Poor choices, mental illness, dysfunctional families, and yes - even bad luck. It has been said many times that some families are one illness, one unexpected financial event away from being homeless. In economics, that is called living on the margin. And that is the real story today.

I guess when I hear the Mayor talk about Minneapolis, I would prefer to hear her say "Challenge Minneapolis" rather than "Brag Minneapolis". There are many, many families in this town who are hurting. Some families have incomes of $10,000 or less. That is substantially below the national average of $50,000 for a family of four. These families get some good press and some help from the country. Notice I said "some". Many are still spending nights outside, sleeping in a car, or searching for a bed in a shelter.

Back to the real story. Those who are just hanging on. Those who are stretched so far, they live in fear of every incoming bill. Those who know the next step in their downward spiral is the streets. Those who have all but given up on the American dream. These are families who make too much for assistance, and not enough to feel immune from the streets. And as the middle class continues to shrink, the number of these families on the margin continues to grow. 

One of my "Leftie" friends who thinks Minneapolis and the Mayor are great has a frequent motto - "When we do better, we all do better." Neat slogan, but patently untrue. We are not all doing better. Some are doing quite worse than better. Some have fallen off the economic radar. To keep ignoring families in Minneapolis who need help, some in need of a little help, some in need of a lot of help, displays Minneapolis for what it has become to a growing number - a town without pity. Try bragging about that, Mayor Betsy.