Where the field was warm and green.
And the people played their crazy game
With a joy I’d never seen.
And the air was such a wonder
From the hot-dogs and the beer.
Yes, there used to be a ballpark right here.
And a great big 4th of July
With the fireworks exploding
All across the summer sky.
And the people watched in wonder
How they’d laugh and how they’d cheer!
And there used to be a ballpark right here.
And they can’t believe their eyes
‘Cause the old team just isn’t playing,
And the new team hardly tries.
And the sky has got so cloudy
When it used to be so clear,
And the summer went so quickly this year.
Yes, there used to be a ballpark right here.
You just read the first and last verse of a poignant song, written in 1973 by Joe Raposo and recorded by his close friend, Frank Sinatra, titled “There Used To Be A Ballpark”. It’s meaning, I’m sure you realize, is that things which used to be – even very wonderful things – may not last…especially if “the new team hardly tries”.
Which brings us to Baltimore.
Baltimore used to be a vibrant city. A bustling metropolis, a major port, a place of opportunity.
Now look at it.
And why did this happen?
David Placher, writing in yeserday’s edition of The Baltimore Sun, has what he thinks is your answer. Here are just a few excerpts (but please use the link and read it all, there’s a lot more):
With the U.S. Census Bureau reporting yet another year of population loss for the city, it doesn’t take an investigator to determine the causes.
The city’s scary record of 343 homicides in 2017 affirms the city’s well-known reputation as a dangerous place to live. Even if 2018 has fewer homicides, it doesn’t take a fortune teller to predict that this year’s homicide rate will be high. Until the city substantially reduces its homicide and other crimes rates, people will continue to view the city as dangerous and be reluctant to stay or move here.
The city’s outrageous property tax of $2.248 per $100 of a property’s assessed value is more than double of its surrounding jurisdictions: Baltimore County, $1.10, and Anne Arundel 90.7 cents.
The city’s public school system is a disaster. Last year, some of the schools had zero students who were proficient in math.
The city’s aged infrastructure is terrible. The city’s random water main breaks, spontaneous sinkholes and desperately needed road work means the cash-strapped city faces many repairs. With costs lurking to fix its dilapidated infrastructure, the money to fund these repairs will either be taken from other services or city residents will have to pay higher taxes.
The mayor and the large part-time City Council are fiscally irresponsible.se it cannot be immune to population decline.
Baltimore’s elections do not change the direction of the city.
If the city doesn’t fix its crime, tax, public school and leadership problems, next year’s census report will be the same.
Does that look like a desirable place to live?
If you were a productive, even modestly successful person with a family you wanted to raise in a decent environment, would you stay?
Two more questions for you: when was the last time anyone but a Democrat was in charge of anything in Baltimore, and when have media connected Baltimore (and Detroit’s, and Saint Louis’s, and…etc. etc. etc.) one party rule to its social and economic downslide?
I think I’ll end by answering those last two questions.
The last Republican Mayor of Baltimore was in 1967 – (51 years ago), the last Republican city council member was in 1942 (76 years ago). As for how long mainstream media have avoided connecting what has happened to these cities with one-party Democrat rule? It’s been too long for me to remember.
the solution for Baltimores’ problems is obviously “clear backpacks”,