I’m a cop. If you don’t want to get hurt, don’t challenge me.

[YankeeFan]

The 1-800-GOTJUNK guy scrounged up $780 for a pickup truck and a newspaper ad.

That's still about $775 more than the average impoverished person has on hand at any given time.

It's less than the combined cost of an iPod, Beats by Dr. Dre Headphones, and a Sony PlayStation -- all of which Michael Brown had.

And, if Michael had a partner, he could have even kept the headphones.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Imagine the money from these businesses stayed in the community, since the owners and employees were members of it.

What money?

 

[Dick Whitman]

The 1-800-GOTJUNK guy scrounged up $780 for a pickup truck and a newspaper ad.

That's still about $775 more than the average impoverished person has on hand at any given time.

It's less than the combined cost of an iPod, Beats by Dr. Dre Headphones, and a Sony PlayStation -- all of which Michael Brown had.

And, if Michael had a partner, he could have even kept the headphones.

Like I said, whale of a plan.

So what's your plan for getting the blacks to stop buying tattoos, iPods, and gold teeth and start buying food trucks?

 

[doctorquant]

they didn't let racism get in their way.

By and large white people didn't let racism get in the immigrants' way either. At least not nearly to the degree they did with African-Americans. That's a part of it you're not getting.

Starting from zero is a lot better than starting from negative 1,000.

OK, so let's stipulate that many poor/uneducated African-Americans start at, as you put it, negative 1,000. For example, think of that heartbreaking story of that little girl ... Dasani? ... in the New York Times awhile back. Is it your contention that white racism is why she's very likely to stay at negative 1,000?

 

[Boom_70]

This business probably took a ton of money to start:

Look at that first truck. It had to be super expensive.

Ah, the success story of a San Francisco surgeon's son. How heartwarming.

Fred G Sanford made a decent living running a junk biz in the black community

 

[doctorquant]

Imagine the money from these businesses stayed in the community ...

Alert: YF's account has been hacked by Baron ...

 

[Boom_70]

Instead of a donut shop how about a cigar factory

 

[YankeeFan]

This business probably took a ton of money to start:

Look at that first truck. It had to be super expensive.

Ah, the success story of a San Francisco surgeon's son. How heartwarming.

LOL.

What difference does that make? He saw an opportunity, and worked his ass off.

Seeing the opportunity, and filling it is the key. Do you have to be a surgeon's son to do that?

The point is that there are low cost business opportunities.

I grew up near where you live. How many Hispanics work in lawn/yard care, and have done well? The initial investment was a truck, and a lawnmower.

And, with a truck, you can drive from poorer neighborhoods to serve more upscale ones.

Is a truck and a lawnmower beyond the reach of a few hard working kids from Ferguson?

 

[MisterCreosote]

The 1-800-GOTJUNK guy scrounged up $780 for a pickup truck and a newspaper ad.

That's still about $775 more than the average impoverished person has on hand at any given time.

It's less than the combined cost of an iPod, Beats by Dr. Dre Headphones, and a Sony PlayStation -- all of which Michael Brown had.

And, if Michael had a partner, he could have even kept the headphones.

So, he should've eschewed any and every luxury in life, and sacrificed his own betterment in attending his "trade school/college," and taken the money his mom gave him and started his own business at 18?

 

[Songbird]

Work ethic. Who's got it, and who don't?

 

[Morris816]

One other point I'll make: The main reason I pulled in the suburban model argument is because it forces people to drive a car to get to where they need to work and shop.

If you have more communities in which people determine it's feasible to walk to work, and then walk by the store on the way home from work, you'd have less of a need to drive a car... and for the working poor, they might go without a car at all (also eliminating the expenses that come with car ownership), and may not even need to spend money on public transportation.

Does it not make sense to develop our communities in a way so that people don't feel they have no choice but to take on a certain expense just so they can get to work and to the store?

 

[YankeeFan]

They patronized businesses owned by members of their community, keeping the money in their community.

You do realize that there is not money in these communities to begin with, right? They are impoverished. They aren't going to become less impoverished by passing money around to one another.

Then how did folks get rich serving them?

Ollie, the guy who was murdered in his Cabrini-Green convenience store got rich off of his two stores.

Now, he worked his ass off, but he got rich.

Just the SNAP money alone is a lot.

There are businesses in these communities. They are just largely owned by folks who don't live there.

Do you think the store where Big Mike stole the rellos from doesn't make money? If it doesn't, why does it exist?