This is the price of density and centralization.

The evil path that SLOG is leading us along.

#2

The article presented facts.

On those verifiable facts, I draw the most obvious conclusion.

Someone then realizes "oops" we just shot ourselves in the foot.

So, you chime in and gainsay with an anecdote.

This is what passes for "argumentation" on the Internet.

I look forward to reading this. Thanks, Jen. And kudos to the NYTimes for using cascading style sheets or whatever to make it print-to-.pdf pretty elegantly and with images included.

But I'd add without [much] snark that the girl might have been named Catskill for the protected-watershed mountains that provide most of New York's superb water right out of every tap in the city, rather than a ridiculously wasteful corporate product.

John Bailo is the stupidest motherfucker on the planet.

There is an interesting debate about the benefits of rent control and having a housing court. Developers in NYC were always looking to get rid of both. The rich could cry the blues, but it made NYC affordable enough for me to live there while I was a stupid.

Didn't notice the Macklemore/PJ pony show benefited Orion Center. Every time I pass by there on the way to 24 hour fitness, there four or five kids sleeping outside the door. They are obviously doing all they can with the resources they have, and I was pretty worried in the funding crisis.

I think we should be spending a lot more on the care of the bottom 10%, but this paragraph kinda stood out for me:

"Nearly a quarter of Dasani’s childhood has unfolded at Auburn, where she shares a 520-square-foot room with her parents and seven siblings. As they begin to stir on this frigid January day, Dasani sets about her chores."

8 children?? WTF?? [I'll also point out that her mother is 34.]

@7 My parents had more children then they could possibly afford, too. I consider it among their top ten bad life decisions. Having too many kids is a great way to ensure they all grow up in poverty. But then, the "decision" is very often influenced by religion and politics. It is no coincidence that most of my (many) siblings turned out atheist.

@7,

I don't think the article tries to hide the fact that her parents have, um, "issues". They've also had run ins with the law and struggle with drug addiction. But the fact of the matter is that tackling poverty tends to reduce birth rates, crime, and drug use; doing the reverse (somehow getting poor people not to have too many children, for example) in the absence of specific anti-poverty programs is much more difficult.

@9 - 6 Biological, 2 unrelated. Is that better? I blame it on lack of education and the Religious Right (they're mostly Wrong).

@11, I don't disagree with you at all. Investing in the bottom 10% has far more positive effects, on the economy as a whole, crime rates, property values..etc..etc., than giving tax breaks to Boeing, and enabling the Waltons to pass on billions in inheritance (for example).

The article also points out that it costs the city/state $3k/month for their room in Auburn - surely there is a better way of housing people than paying $3k/month for 520 square feet! I know New York is expensive, but that's ridiculous. (Apparently housing right next to the Auburn is $5-600/month probably for similar square footage.)

7 kids... maybe invest in condoms?