Our economic gap is getting wider

A friend often gives me a hard time about raising issues in my blogs without a solution.

“Don’t bring stuff up unless you have answers,” I hear constantly.

While the blog's purpose is for conversation, not lecturing, I see my friend’s point. It’s easy to complain; not so easy to solve.

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So, with that setup, I hope my friend takes the blog day off. I have a dilemma with no solution.

It was something I saw on Monday that got my brain reeling. First, the photo of the Davis Reserve sign. That’s the new Citrus Hills development being built on C.R. 486 opposite Ottawa Avenue. I took the photo for a potential blog about expensive homes.

Then on the way home, I was sitting in traffic on U.S. 41 when I saw a man walk out of the woods. And that’s when the question struck me:

How can we be a county of $400,000 houses and also a county of people with no place to call home?

It boggles my mind.

To watch a County Commission budget hearing, one would think our community is very poor. People come to the microphone, saying taxes are driving them from their homes. I have no doubt these folks are sincere and worried about money.

Then we have commissioners approving new developments of rather steeply priced homes. Developers wouldn’t be building those homes if they didn’t think the clientele existed to fill them. This residential growth means an influx of people who can afford half-million-dollar houses.

At the same time, I see a Chronicle story about the School Board partnering with the county and Education Foundation on a $500,000 grant to help homeless families get back on their feet.

During a County Commission budget debate earlier this month, Commissioner Holly Davis said 24% of our school children live in “horrific poverty.” No working fridge, holes in the floor, leaky roof, cockroaches galore.

I’ve always known that upwards of 70% of our kids come from very poor families. Still, that statistic Davis cited seemed rather high. I reached out to someone in the Citrus County education world who confirmed it.

Kids in horrific poverty. 

Homes “starting” at $400,000.

Our balance is off.

I read that the county’s unemployment rate is 6.6%, the third-highest in the state. I haven’t a clue why that is. We’re middle of the pack in property taxes and personal income. Why are we so out of whack with our employment?

This didn’t happen overnight. Citrus County has long had an identity crisis. Urban life to the south; trees to the north. For three decades, we’ve debated which path to follow. Meanwhile, we've grown in service jobs but little else.

We have somewhat of a hybrid going. Developers clearly see money to be made in Citrus County. When commissioners approve a development plan, they encourage that investment. Everyone’s happy.

But what do we do with citizens who struggle financially? What role, if any, does local government play in ensuring the underdogs in our community get the same political benefits as those who our new developers are enticing?

It’s not about empathy. We don’t need commissioners telling us they know what it’s like being poor, and then driving in nice cars to their nice homes.

No, it’s much deeper. It’s taking a look at our community and trying to find an economic balance. I haven’t a clue how to do that. Looking around, not many people here do. They’re either incredible advocates for the disadvantaged, or they’re advocates for more high-end growth. I haven’t met too many people who cover both.

The divide will widen before it narrows. New developments coming online cater to the well-to-do, not the folks begging county commissioners for tax relief. Yet, commissioners must represent both camps. How?

We’re building half-million-dollar homes in a county where 24% of the kids live in horrific poverty. 

Something just ain’t right.

As we move along with the sales-tax talk, let’s ponder this, OK? Maybe there’s a solution we haven’t discovered.

That’s it for Tuesday. Have a great one, friends.

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