Comments on: Atlanta population boom

By: Robert Green

Robert Green — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 04:50:08 +0000

White flight occurred largely due to the ridiculously failed policies of the Great Society programs which enabled the breakdown of traditional black families resulting in radical increases in crime not seen since the 19th century. Active neglect of the overall community by newly empowered and pitifully naive black politicians in favor of all black occupation of all positions of power in city government. It was in fact a gauntlet thrown down daring any white person to object on pain of being a racist. In short it was payback time. Add in also the dispicable “block busting” tactics of Maynard Jackson’s biggest supporters and voila – there it is.

By: cityzen

cityzen — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:18:49 +0000

Dash, That’s a useful perspective on the effect of white flight. It’s got to have been financially and psychologically pretty devastating to have seen housing wealth evaporate like that. Much worse than in this latest go around where home values were obviously funny money. After-effects severe on anyone caught up in it, black or white.

By: cityzen

cityzen — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:13:25 +0000

Mr T: Atlanta Property Digest up 50%, millage down 18%. Where did the rest of the prop tax growth go?
Population up 25%, inflation up 15%, real consumption up 10% (02-08). Why is sales tax rev. up only 9%? Where did the rest of the taxes go?

I agree we had to have a tax increase because the city has to have revenues to pay for public safety. But I’m paying way more than in 02 – before this millage increase – because of reassessments. I’d like to know why the city has not seen its revenues from everyone else rise, too. The ADA could explain, but won’t.

By: Mr. T

Mr. T — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:25:26 +0000

Yes there were accounting problems but the primary reason Atlanta didn’t see the benefit of population growth and property tax growth from 2002 to 2008 is because the City LOWERED property taxes every year from 2003 to 2008.

We can’t have it both ways. Lower taxes and more services, at least on a local level where deficits aren’t allowed, can’t be accomplished.

I’m not happy about paying more taxes but I like the idea of getting cops and firefighters off furloughs and doing their jobs.

By: Dash Riptide

Dash Riptide — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:16:31 +0000

White flight was like rubber-necking at the scene of an accident. It only takes a certain number of social deviants to screw things up for everybody. My white family didn’t flee when black families started moving into our South DeKalb neighborhood. And I saw with my own eyes that our neighborhood actually improved in the short run because good, decent families were displacing total rednecks. But the panic flight response caused home values to drop, and pretty soon the situation flipped, with relatively “bad” families displacing good ones again and again. And then there was a drug-related shooting. And then we moved. We were white and we fled, but we felt we had no other choice. At least we had that one choice. Even as a teenager I understood that if those pioneering black families fled with us, the blight would eventually follow them. Imagine buying homes that depreciate in value again and again just because of the color of your skin. It’s no wonder black families with means don’t seem interested in our expensive little intown bungalows these days. It must be hard to view them as sound investments relative to 3000 sq.ft. barns in relatively treeless Lithonia subdivisions. Homes are no doubt considered purely consumption items to the economically-scarred victims of white flight.

By: Adam

Adam — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:11:17 +0000

Andisheh –

No reason to pull punches: The reason the City of Atlanta lost residents for 30 years was because white people didn’t want their kids to live next to and attend school with black people.

I don’t want to condemn the entire city of Marietta, but there’s a reason its population exploded during the same period.

By: cityzen

cityzen — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:09:10 +0000

Tony, I’m no fan of Shirley but she didn’t squander the tax money in the sense that you seem to think. The city’s General Fund never saw any more property tax money from 2002 to 2008, and only 9% more sales tax money. As best I can tell, Shirley squandered it by diverting it to developer boondoggles (TADs and abatements) and by not ensuring that it was collected from the likes of Jeff Notrica.

By: Tony Wilbert

Tony Wilbert — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:45:25 +0000

So with all these new residents (taxpayers) moving into the city, I reckon property taxes will be lowered. Oh wait, that’s right, Shirley & Co. squandered enough money that they had to ask for more. And they’ll get it this fall!

By: cityzen

cityzen — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:30:04 +0000

Rapid growth in population confirmed again, but almost no growth in city sales tax revenue from 2002 to 2008. Who pocketed the missing pennies? Is it too much to ask our leaders and our media – that’s you Andisheh and Scott – to turn the spotlight on this? If sales tax had kept up with the pop pop and inflation, we’d have been spared the worst of the furloughs and this week’s property ta hike.