Lately, all I’m hearing and reading about is how shitty the economy is right now. I’m not going to argue that.
But I have to disagree with the way we are looking at certain financial problems.
Just off the top of my head, I know that there are reports on how the Mark Twain House and Old State House have been struggling. Two branches of the Hartford Public Library have closed. A number of public school employees have been laid off. The state is having budgeting issues (which apparently means that some state employees get to currently work without having the security of signed contracts. Employees can get paid for what they have worked, but be told not to return for the rest of the term. source: personal experience). When hearing about each of these issues, the message I am receiving is that nothing can be done. Our hands are tied. The library does not want to take responsibility for their budgeting mishaps. Some politicians don’t seem to want to step up and do their jobs, which directly involve city budgeting issues. What’s more, the city has this image problem (exacerbated by the media on a nearly daily basis) which allows outsiders to justify letting everything here crumble.
Money problems are not the same as late stage cancer or earthquakes–there is, in fact, something to be done. Capitalism, the whole concept of money, and esoteric budgets involving huge sums are all manufactured, aka, they are all man-made things. This is America, and no matter how awful our economy is right now, we, as a country, are faring better than many places in the world. The American Dream myth of pulling oneself up by his bootstraps is flipped. If anyone has the ability to succeed in that way, it’s not the individual, but the larger entity–the organization or corporation.
Meanwhile, as important cultural and educational facilities are suffering, a whole lot of unnecessary is all around us. Take the new sign for the renamed Ann Uccello Street. Or the trucks that are not shipping cargo, but are driving around downtown advertising the lottery and adult stores via the billboards that are where the trailer should be. Or the inefficient 311 service that takes days to respond to requests, and then, sometimes only after sending follow-up emails. I’m aware that the funding for some of these things is private/corporate or state, rather than municipal, however, a dollar bill is legal throughout the country. The lines that we designate are just that–our own creation. What I am getting at is that the people with the direct ability to aid in each of these situations are acting childishly, apathetically, greedily, or uncreatively.
Currently, there are some major new developments (I’d call them monstrosities, but some actually like these soul-sucking projects) in downtown. Perhaps they might consider being more than squatters here, and showing the city some goodwill…some sign, you could call it, that they are committed. Like a promise ring. It doesn’t have to be two months’ salary even. The CT Convention Center, major hotels, Hartford 21, and all the other luxury apartments popping up–I’m looking directly at you. This should be a no-strings attached monetary gift– no announcing your donation with a plaque or logorific memorabilia. Simple goodwill.
While the corporations spread a little of their wealth, maybe the state and municipal budgeteers can evaluate their priorities. Hint: No more unnecessary signs! If you must erect signs, how about fixing damaged or missing street signs, rather than replacing perfectly fine ones because someone has decided to rename a street?
This is serious. I am tired of hearing how horrible Hartford is, while efforts to make improvements are stymied. Funding that could be used to hire more qualified instructors at Capital Community College seems to be tied up in the ridiculous overhead. Did you know that the school pays $26,500 per month so that students can walk through the lobby? They are essentially throwing away a person’s yearly salary every month because of a lousy deal. As with many colleges and universities, there are a ton of adjunct and part-time staff, which means no health care. If one assesses the college education as unnecessary, he would be off in this case. Community colleges often have remedial (or in politically correct terms, “developmental”) courses which help many students catch up on skills and knowledge that they lack because of a poor high school education, dropping out, being out of school for years (these are adult students who have been working…not leisurely touring the continent), or have moved to the United States from a country with a vastly different education system. So, we’re not talking about providing students with philosophy or film degrees (not that there’s anything wrong with either)– we’re talking about basic education so that people already in the workforce, for the most part, can improve their literacy, write clearly, and do simple math. While some students go on to four-year universities from here, many are aspiring EMTs, nurses, and preschool teachers. You know, the kind of people who you might want to be educated.
It’s not rocket science. If youth are better equipped to begin with, there’s less remedial need at the college level. (Honestly, if my job is lost because local students don’t demand so much academic support, I’d be able to stomach it much better than if my hours are chopped due to stupid overhead costs) And the way to address that is, I don’t know, the exact opposite of closing library branches and laying off public school teachers. From experience, I know that a layoff can sometimes mean being hired back, but in a different branch/school; however, if a person has bills to pay and has no guarantee a job will be there for her in two months, she’s probably going to look for a new one. This feeds the problem of high turnover in the city schools.
I am rambling, and I have a point. None of these closures, impending closures, or layoffs are inevitable. Our hands are not tied. We have created the rules of these games and we have the power to change them. If capitalism and all it entails actually is uncontrollable, then perhaps we need to evaluate the acceptance of that as well.