BY DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY

First of Two Parts

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, FEB. 23, 2016) — Has anyone asked tough questions about the now-rote assignation of grant money by the state to Pittsfield?

Mayor Sara Hathaway was the first to openly admit the city’s unhealthy dependence on state welfare for its survival. In 2002, in the first year of her one and only term, Hathaway called the city a “junkie” for state dollars. Boston’s role in keeping the city afloat had reached a majority position, but why, especially when it’s well known that on Beacon Hill, “western Massachusetts” is anything east of Worcester’s western city limits. Why would Boston shower grant money on Pittsfield, a city that has only become 14 more years down and out since Hathaway’s pronouncement?

The Dark Side of ‘Free’ Money

That’s the dark side of the so called “free” money. Every grant has a set of footnotes, provisos, and small print. These arrangements, tiny in writing but gigantic in effect, saddle Pittsfield with the social detriments that can be seen daily on its streets, especially North Street and the West Side. You know what THE PLANET’s talking about: the influx of drug addicts, drunks, mentally ill, scammers, criminals, Sec. 8s, and others who have, largely by their poor choices that are nonetheless exercises of free will, have made themselves into what the do-gooders call “victims.” Actually, they are human waste. They consume vast amounts of services but contribute little or nothing to city coffers.

Why do you think the city has an wildly disproportionate number of group homes, “affordable” housing, social programs, and infrastructure to handle the “armies of the road?” One of the biggest reasons is state and federal grant money.

Grant money isn’t “free money” the state produces from surplus. Rather, it’s money that comes from your taxes, money that has contributed mightily to the state’s near-$1 billion deficit. Tell that to the politicians, state reps, and city officials. Each time the city received a grant, they preen in the gullible mainstream media about how great this is. Actually, the vast majority of grant announcements testify to the city’s failure to stand on its own two feet, healthy and able to move forward without the braces and crutches of grant dollars. Whose buried in grant’s tomb? Answer: Pittsfield, Mass.

Shannon Grants? Wide Right

Case in point is Pittsfield’s reception of yet another Shannon Grant. For four years in a row, the city has received this money. Four Shannon grants in four years? That’s like the Buffalo Bills going to four straight Super Bowls and losing each time. Wide right. Ask yourself: If this grant is the godsend that officials claim, why is Pittsfield fours years worse off with respect to youth crime, gangs, and criminality?

Earlier this month, Gov. Charlie Baker announced Pittsfield’s $95,000 award, part of the $6.5 million statewide total. Baker said the city earned the award for its “demonstrated commitment and creativity in combating the gang violence that threatens the safety and well-being of [its] residents.”

Right. In other words, the words were written by a junior staffer in the press office. The governor spoke of fighting youth violence with “a multidimensional approach that employs a full range of diverse and effective techniques …” Take a walk on North Street beginning at Columbus and Maplewood avenues. Start on the east side of the street. Continue north until the A-Mart Plaza. Take note of the critters you come across. At A-Mart, cross the street and proceed south to Linden Street. Take a right on Linden, and walk west as far as the Christian Center, then, if you dare, take a left of right and wander the side streets — Bradford, Dewey, Francis. If you make it out alive, ask yourselves if four years of Shannon grants have made a positive difference or if the money has made things worse.

‘Essential?’ Yes, But That’s the Problem

Mayor Linda Tyer and Police Chief Mike Wynn said the right things, calling the grant “essential to the city’s work.” That’s true, in the same way that heroin is “essential to a junkie’s work.”

Tyer said Pittsfield is “committed to working with our youth to give them the resources needed to manage challenging circumstances and position them for later success in life.” THE PLANET has no doubt that in the theoretical world, that’s what enabling grant money does. In the real world, however, the massive amounts of grant money from the state and feds only perpetuates the poverty and in effect rewards people for their poor choices.

Tomorrow: Part 2

——————————————————————————————-

“A team is where a boy can prove his courage on his own.” — Mickey Mantle

“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”

LOVE TO ALL.

The views expressed in the comment section or opinions published within the text other than those of PLANET VALENTI are not those of PLANET VALENTI or endorsed in any way by PLANET VALENTI; this website reserves the right to remove any comment which violates its Rules of Conduct, and it is not liable for the consequences of any posted comment as provided in Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and PLANET VALENTI’s terms of service.