Blacks oppose Trader Joes in Portland, claim it will attract too many whites

"The Trader Joe's development will increase displacement of low-income residents and "increase the desirability of the neighborhood," for "non-oppressed populations," PAALF wrote.

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"The city has tried to get a development plan off the ground at the corner in question for almost 14 years. Dana Haynes with Mayor Hales' office said the news has left the city in a lurch."

 

I addressed that in my addition to the post quoted in yours.

On edit, I was off on the bankruptcy filing for the Mervyn's chain, but this local store was closed in the late 1990's, maybe relocated, but not on this side of town.

 

Complain about living in undesirable neighbor hoods then are opposed to the grocery-store because the development would “increase the desirability of the neighborhood,” oh the irony

 

Actually Wal-Mart stores attract development and more stores and more jobs just as the Trader Joe's also including FOURTEEN other stores that would be built but will not now. The are called cornerstone stores.

Well you do know Obama is proposing just this type of thing, economic development zones with tax abatement and subsidies. Do you also oppose his plan?

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Then you admit these community activist are racist and bigoted?

 

TJ's offers quality foods and fresh meats and vegetables at low prices, it would be a very good store for the area and bring with it 14 more stores on the same property.

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The black activist were trying to extort TJ's and the city. They stated they wanted their "bone" tossed to them before they would approve and support the development.

 

Obama and the Dem leadership are not thinking straight about this stuff though. They need to give Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton a cut of the financial pie -- under the table -- and immediately those two would begin vigorously promoting Trade Joe's and Wallmart and et.al. as essential Black community economic resources. A republican would be smart enough about HOW capitalism works to think of doing just that.

 

When are the local gov'ts going to tell these meddlers and miscreants to f themselves and be done with them. Oh wait these are future Obamas in training, first denying support for development claiming racial and economic harm then complaining to the federal gov't about the lack of support for development claiming racial and economic harm. Ah the community organizer - the perpetual emotion machine of our time.

 

I heard the guy interviewed on the Michael Medved show and he was quite clear and used those words that they wanted to be "tossed a bone" then they would support it.

 

There you go. The beauty of capitalism meets cynical self-interests disguised as community activism. Gotta love it!

 

The worst part about this article,is the comments section below the article. It was a free for all for racist idiots to start name calling. I forget sometimes, how many ignorant people are still out here, hopefully in a few generations, that type of hateful thinking is irradiated. Did you see some of the comments, it was like being in Alabama in 1952.
Even though I was initialing siding on the view, of how can a community group stop progress, I will not be on the side of those racist idiots and there comments on the article, so if these community leaders and the community do not want the store, than good for them. Anything to keep those rednecks out.

 

Or New York or Chicago or Detroit or Philadelphia or LA or Boston just about anywhere else in the country.

 

This RIGHT HERE is exactly why libertarians lean to the right.

While we generally live by "the right is wrong and the left is stupid", this is a perfect example of why being wrong is better than being stupid...

"Trader Joes is evil because they don't pay $30 an hour to a good stocker"

"Whites deserve this kind of stuff because it happened to blacks in the past"

"They don't need another corporatist scum in their neighborhood anyways"

All of those arguments have been used in this thread so far and they prove the stupidity of each poster that has been quoted.

IF YOUR FINANCES SUCK NOTHING YOU DO SOCIALLY MATTERS. WHY CANT YOU GET THAT!

I actually have more faith that eventually the left will become more fiscally right than the right being socially left. In which cases will happily vote Democrat.

However saying a 6% chance is more likely than a 4% chance isn't much for optimism....

 

As I said earlier there are empty stores in good neighborhoods that sit empty for years, owned by private realtors, so it's not horrible for a local government to do the same thing. If was such a great location, TJ's would buy it at market or close, it's that simple.

What happens often is these companies find these deals and then lowball the governments, promising jobs and whatnot, if they give them the property for nothing or next nothing, and turn around and find a buyer for it or throw up a cheap building and unload it nearer the market price and walk away with a big chunk of change.

Michael Dell tried that with the local county government here. It was sitting on a large piece of land near an airport being built. He came in and said if the County gave him the land he would build a big Dell plant there and bring in 5,000 jobs. The catch was he wanted the county to give him the land with no strings attached ... the locals debated it back and forth and of course many got all excited at '5,000 jobs blah blah blah', and most people were for it, but the county rejected it. A month later Dell was laying off thousands in Austin and shutting down warehouses because of the downturn in PC sales. In other words, he was lying through his teeth and after a quick buck a freebies; he knew he wasn't going to do squat with the land but flip it or leverage it. That's why this deal stinks; I could care less about the race thing.

TJ's will open stores in Portland if they think they will make money there, period. This one parcel of land means squat, and so does the 'flagship' nonsense. They were fishing for freebies. Companies are doing this everywhere. I think there is an entire major airport in Indiana sitting empty over a freebie deal.

And typically, self-proclaimed 'conservatives' hop up and down over any deal that involves corporate welfare; it's very predictable, socializing the costs while privatizing the profits.

 

It's called DEVELOPMENT and no those realtors don't like the land sitting there idle and it's NOT a great location which is why it has sat there, TJ's wants to try and MAKE IT a great location and at the same time bring in jobs and better and cheaper food choices.

And they are generally in contracts with provisions and requirements on the developer. The market price is merely what the next buyer will pay for it and if no one is willing to buy it it has little if any market value.

And prehaps the cost of the land and the taxation on the land where that plant was prohibited keeping it open during the dot.com bust but had he been able to get tax abatement and lower land cost near the airport he might have kept it running

And with the deal with the city they would have after investing a LOT of money and now because these community organizers were trying to extort money from them they won't.


And typically, self-proclaimed 'conservatives' hop up and down over any deal that involves corporate welfare; it's very predictable, socializing the costs while privatizing the profits.[/QUOTE]

 

If Trader Joe's is the requirement to finally mainstream the Black population to the Middle Class
a mainstreaming they have culturally rejected since the days of Ron Kananga,
Bravo ! Support Federally financed Trader Joe's in neighborhood poorly represented.


A ghettoized Black population void of gentrification is not relieved via 5 decades of special opportunity.
If placement of a Trader Joe's in the deepest, blackest depths of the ghetto would lead the way to the
American Middle Class, then it is something worthy of Federal Tax support.
Especially since previous, special opportunity programs over 5 decades have NOT worked.

Black Leadership that opposes Trader Joe's in the name of Black Culture perpetuate a ghetto mentality
and favor their own pockets. We all know it. So to "they". The "mafia" mentality, don'tchyasee.



Moi

No ​

 

If Trader Joe's said it wouldn't place a store in a black neighborhood, wouldn't the same "activists" complain about racism?

Building such controversies is how many "activists" make a living. These things keep them in the news as black champions, and draw donations. The donations are what they live on. If anyone gives way to them, they look effective, and that brings more donations. It's a business. But it's a business that hurts people by causing paranoia and hostility between groups, and by trapping black people behind walls of fear, keeping them from joining society. Black people are people, which means that, like all people, most of them want to belong to the same community as their near neighbors. But the "activists" insist that black people are at war with other Americans. That insistence, if unchallenged, becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

 

No, its called corporate welfare and fishing for government freebies at taxpayers' expense, which is something conservative avidly support in contradiction to their 'free market' rhetoric; the socialism is fine for business, sucks for individuals narrative fails.

 

You don't know Trader Joe's right?

Trader Joe's is good quality at a LOW PRICE!

And they are established in MANY communities who are predominantly non-White (i.e., Athen, in Atlanta suburbs).

 

Maybe someone just needs to explain how good the hummus is there. Did you ever think of that?

 

The proper response to Portland's Black on White racist should be;
It is not the benefit to the Black Community that should be of concern as much as the
benefit to the American community, of the same economic standing.


Moi

No ​

 

The Trader Joe's here opened up in an upscale area, with some of the highest real estate prices in town, so the claim they need such a big subsidy in Portland rings false; they buy at market prices with no problem elsewhere.

 

Maybe they should just open up a Walmart in a nice suburban neighborhood and call it even.

 

The world has gone nuts. Lefties, are you on board with this? What say you? It is OK, you are wrong all the time, admitting your side is wrong once will not kill you.

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That is how it works you know. The leaders at the top place businesses in areas to oppress certain people. Not because the people who live there want to shop there.

 

Walmarts are already in nice suburban neighborhoods all over the U.S., so it's already more than even. Trader Joe's doesn't seem to have any confidence in their brand if they're claiming they can't open up without multi-million dollar taxpayer subsidies. Not to mention the other businesses they will be competing with didn't get such nice taxpayer giveaways to start up their stores, and will be at an unfair disadvantage, which doesn't seem to bother the corporate welfare fans even a little bit.

 

The Mayor has the same opinion.

Increasing desirability of neighborhoods for the wealthy will eventually raise the cost of living to the point where the poorest residents have to move out. If they're lucky, they'll get shuffled around the city. If their not quiet as lucky, they'll end up homeless.

Neoliberalism is based on hegemonic ideals that don't work.