When Concerns Bring Changes... Hmm

Folks in my county have been in an utter uproar over the extreme hikes in our property taxes.

I have to admit the hike was out of the blue. Property taxes went up by some 50% for some folks.

My taxes increased by 800%.

Mind you, my taxes were artificially low. I went to the property tax office a few years ago to talk to the peoples about it. They assured me the taxes were correct.

This made sense, since the market was low and I lived next door to a foreclosure. Oh yeah, there was a foreclosure across the street too. And several around the neighborhood.

And that was fine, as long as they didn't circle back trying to jack me for tax money. Fine.

But enter

GENTRIFICATION.

When I saw white folks jogging, walking their dogs, and pushing baby strollers, I thought... uh... here WE go.

I knew a hike was coming. Especially when they built that state-of-the-art park a couple of blocks from the house. And when they started pulling up asphalt and laying down beautiful bricks, bricks that you could drive over...

GENTRIFICATION.

I didn't worry much about this hike in taxes. First of all, mine are around 20% below the expected tax value. And I can always write it off on taxes.

But I was watching the news, and people's property taxes were going from $15,000 to $30,000. That is some craziness indeed.

I spoke with one of my beloved white friends about this. "If ya'll got $15,000, ya'll can come up with the rest. Ya'll got money like that."

She set me straight on that. As always. I have my misconceptions about white folk. You know how it's shoved down our throats about how perfect their lives are. She tends to yank me back into reality.

"These white folks gonna raise hell, though," I said. "You watch. They're not going for that."

"You gonna appeal?" she asked.

"Nope. I'm gonna depend on these white folks to go crazy."

So I waited.

And then I got this in the mailbox the other day:

Look how they have "Due to concerns raised by residents..." in bold print.

You know what it is.

I know what it is.

Even that fat cat Mitch know what it is:

Look at the look on his face. He know what's up.

This is what it should've said.

I spoke on the phone with my beloved white friend. She said, "You know, I saw that on the news and thought 'LadyLee was right. They are not going for it'."

"I told you," I said. "No way."

I expect my tax notice to stay the same. But if they want to return it to last years tax, have at it. That is fine by me.

They best not upset the pioneers, these Christopher Columbus types, who have "discovered" inner city living ever again.

Believe that!

I don't have a problem with gentrification. People in general get tired of living in the suburbs. I lived in my neighborhood some 20 years ago when I was in grad school and I LOVED it. If I ever caught a house down there, I was snatching it up. I did that when prices were sky high. But at the same time, people will be priced out. I should be fine. I thought about all of this some 10  years ago when I bought my house. I am STILL mad about having to spend $2000 on a lawyer over 2 feet of fence in my backyard. But it is what it is. 

I wish a good 100 of us could get together and buy up and fix up houses in our hood.  Then this wouldn't be an issue, wouldn't it.

But here's a piece of food for thought...

Whenever I have to research a city that I am using in a story...

I notice whenever the blacks in the community try to have a nice neighborhood and businesses and schools and such, there's a bit of fire bombing, lynching, and highway building, etc...

You would be absolutely SHOCKED  at the history of some of the neighborhoods within a 5 mile radius of my house. SHOCKED.  

I'm just saying...

Selah.