Neoliberal (Democratic) party hypocrites

Gentrification

It appears I have moved into an early gentrification situation.

Something I noticed right away when I moved in was a notice above the mailboxes threatening residents with huge bills for clearing drains of stuff that shouldn’t be put down drains. A related clue was that one of the outlets in my apartment didn’t work.

It turns out the outlet doesn’t work because of a “loose neutral.” Which happened because they removed a garbage disposal in the kitchen. “People were abusing them,” the maintenance worker explained.

Then there’s the garbage. I don’t know whether trash is getting blown out of the garbage bins or just not making it in the bins in the first place. But there’s been an awful lot of litter on the lawns around my building. And apparently enough of it went down the storm drain in the parking lot that during recent heavy rains, it clogged.

The other day, management sent out an email to residents taking notice of personal belongings in common areas. It seems these will now be discarded without further notice. All of a sudden the trash is getting picked up. And I saw maintenance workers hauling children’s toys out of the basement (this would be where the laundry machines are) in a nearby building.

The corporation that owns this complex is one I’ve seen before in the San Francisco Bay Area, probably on the peninsula. So they’re nationwide. The complexes I’d seen before were high end complexes, meant to appeal to well-paid high tech workers.

While my apartment is nice on the inside, the outside has left something to be desired. But I’ve been noticing efforts to spruce things up. And I’m interpreting the rest as a conflict between residents who presumably predate this corporation’s purchase of the complex and the new management. The residents are used to things being a certain way. The management wants to make improvements, presumably to attract higher class residents (and charge higher rents).

Like, it must be admitted, me.


Neoliberal party

It’s business as usual.[1]

Shane Goldmacher and Stephanie Saul, “Democratic Candidates Woo Silicon Valley for Donations, Then Bash It,” New York Times, June 7, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/06/us/politics/democrats-2020-donations-silicon-valley.html

Andrew Sheeler, “Democrats say they don’t take Big Tobacco money. But JUUL had a sponsorship at convention,” Sacramento Bee, June 7, 2019, https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article231228168.html


Nutrition

Drug stores sell highly processed food even in underserved neighborhoods. It’s only a marginal improvement over what many poor people were eating before.[2]

Gabrielle Canon, “‘Food deserts’ become ‘food swamps’ as drugstores outsell major grocers,” Guardian, June 4, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/04/food-swamps-cvs-outsells-trader-joes-whole-foods-processed-shopping


Brexit

Politicians get away with lying in Britain too.[3]

Gareth Davies, “Boris Johnson has misconduct allegations quashed in High Court,” Telegraph, June 7, 2019, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/06/07/boris-johnson-has-misconduct-allegations-quashed-high-court/


Migration

Tracy Wilkinson and Noah Bierman, “Trump announces deal to avoid tariffs on Mexico,” Los Angeles Times, June 7, 2019, https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-pol-us-mexico-tariffs-immigration-talks-20190607-story.html


  1. [1]Shane Goldmacher and Stephanie Saul, “Democratic Candidates Woo Silicon Valley for Donations, Then Bash It,” New York Times, June 7, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/06/us/politics/democrats-2020-donations-silicon-valley.html; Andrew Sheeler, “Democrats say they don’t take Big Tobacco money. But JUUL had a sponsorship at convention,” Sacramento Bee, June 7, 2019, https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article231228168.html
  2. [2]Gabrielle Canon, “‘Food deserts’ become ‘food swamps’ as drugstores outsell major grocers,” Guardian, June 4, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/04/food-swamps-cvs-outsells-trader-joes-whole-foods-processed-shopping
  3. [3]Gareth Davies, “Boris Johnson has misconduct allegations quashed in High Court,” Telegraph, June 7, 2019, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/06/07/boris-johnson-has-misconduct-allegations-quashed-high-court/

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.