The White Establishment

[Making Chimichangas]

I disclose I am white...

 

White Conservatives: Whites are being diminished in America!

 

Me: How?

 

White Conservatives: Non-whites, non-Christians, queers, immigrants and other undesirable miscreants are taking over America!

 

Me: How? Hetero-sexual, "christian" whites are still...

 

95% of all the faces you see on TV

95% of all the faces you see in movies

98% of all the faces controlling corporate America

97% of all the faces you see in every day life

 

White Conservatives: We used to be 100% in all those categories, can't you see how badly we're being diminished and marginalized in America?

 

Me: Ummm, do you know what the words marginalized and diminished actually mean?

[Moiraine]

Thought of another example of White privilege on my drive to Village Pointe in Omaha today.

 

For years and years people have been moving out west. I think the street numbers in Omaha are in the 200s now. This is almost exclusively White people moving into and creating suburbs. Part of it is population increase but it started out as just trying to get away from the city (and in some cases be a part of a more homogenous group of people).

 

Then people drive for miles to get back to the city where the jobs are. Due to this emigration west, traffic on Dodge street started to get really slow. So Omaha decided to use tax money to incentivize living closer to one's job location.

 

Just kidding.

 

They decided to build a giant bridge in the middle of town above the current Dodge street so there are now 2 Dodge streets. Regular old Dodge and express freeway Dodge. That way people can live in the middle of nowhere by Target and Walmart and Bath & Bodyworks and still get into work super quickly. $20 million of this was paid for by the City of Omaha. I'm having trouble finding the source but I do know that in 2016 we passed a 6 cent gas tax for more similar projects. I'm assuming the street was paid for by sales tax or gas tax, which means lots and lots if people who rarely (if ever) use this street helped pay for it.

 

 

My point here is not that we shouldn't be doing projects like this. But they aren't helping people who are poor and living in inner cities, and those people are not White. All the people who complain about welfare programs should stop and think about how the system helps them. This is an example of something that helps a specific group of people who is not, generally, poor.

[ColoradoHusk]

I didn't realize it was white privilege for people to want to live in areas of a city with newer homes, larger properties, good schools, and lower crime rates for their children to grow up. Come talk to me when you want to raise a family of your own.

 

Buying a house in West Omaha is more affordable than buying a 40-50 year old home east of 90th and fixing it up. The West Dodge overpass was done to alleviate traffic in an area that was poorly planned and designed 30 years ago. If that wasn't done, you would have seen more business move their operations further into the suburbs to get closer to their employees, and it's possible there would have been even further deterioration of mid-town and downtown Omaha.

[Moiraine]

I didn't realize it was white privilege for people to want to live in areas of a city with newer homes, larger properties, good schools, and lower crime rates for their children to grow up. Come talk to me when you want to raise a family of your own.

Buying a house in West Omaha is more affordable than buying a 40-50 year old home east of 90th and fixing it up. The West Dodge overpass was done to alleviate traffic in an area that was poorly planned and designed 30 years ago. If that wasn't done, you would have seen more business move their operations further into the suburbs to get closer to their employees, and it's possible there would have been even further deterioration of mid-town and downtown Omaha.

You missed the point and ignored the part where I said "My point here is not that we shouldn't be doing projects like this."

 

What you said about moving to a different neighborhood in the first paragraph isn't a relevant response because that's not what I'm referring to when I use the term. I'm referring to how a negative consequence of that emigration was solved. It was fixed using everyone's taxes regardless of whether they use the road, and there was very little complaining done.

 

The same can't be said for most projects that help poor minorities that don't help non-poor Whites.

 

Having to spend 1-2 hours on the road driving from west Omaha was a problem for almost exclusively White people and Omaha did a big project to try to fix it. That type of thing is taken for granted. Some people who helped pay for it don't even own cars. I'm not saying we should complain about the expenditure. I'm not against it myself. I'm saying we shouldn't take it for granted and we shouldn't complain when money is spent to help poorer areas (which are made up of mostly minorities) even if it doesn't help us.

 

Evryone benefits from tax money that helps them with something but doesn't help every group of people. But by default the problems that negatively affect Whites are usually seen to first.

[zoogs]

This is spot on.

[Landlord]

I didn't realize it was white privilege for people to want to live in areas of a city with newer homes, larger properties, good schools, and lower crime rates for their children to grow up. Come talk to me when you want to raise a family of your own.

 

Buying a house in West Omaha is more affordable than buying a 40-50 year old home east of 90th and fixing it up. The West Dodge overpass was done to alleviate traffic in an area that was poorly planned and designed 30 years ago. If that wasn't done, you would have seen more business move their operations further into the suburbs to get closer to their employees, and it's possible there would have been even further deterioration of mid-town and downtown Omaha.

 

Privilege

1.

a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group of people.

...living in a place that is way better than a different place isn't a privilege? What exactly do you think that term means?

[Landlord]

Moiraine, your post reminded me of this interesting video essay from Vox:

 

[ColoradoHusk]

The main reason the Dodge Street overpass is a terrible example of white privilege and poor use of tax dollars is that the project was most likely funded by the Federal and State level of highway and transportation funds. The Dodge Street overpass did not take funding away from local social expenses.

 

Almost all of roads and highways are funded from the FHWA, and the dollars cannot be used elsewhere. The main source of transportation funds are gasoline and other usage taxes. These are not social welfare taxes.

[Landlord]

The main reason the Dodge Street overpass is a terrible example of white privilege and poor use of tax dollars is that the project was most likely funded by the Federal and State level of highway and transportation funds. The Dodge Street overpass did not take funding away from local social expenses.

 

Almost all of roads and highways are funded from the FHWA, and the dollars cannot be used elsewhere. The main source of transportation funds are gasoline and other usage taxes. These are not social welfare taxes.

 

 

Thank you for the insight on that (I had no idea about any of that), but isn't it still possible to say that those dollars intrinsically benefit certain demographics moreso than others? Not by specific targeting of course, but that's how most of this stuff works in our country today.

[ColoradoHusk]

 

 

The main reason the Dodge Street overpass is a terrible example of white privilege and poor use of tax dollars is that the project was most likely funded by the Federal and State level of highway and transportation funds. The Dodge Street overpass did not take funding away from local social expenses.

 

Almost all of roads and highways are funded from the FHWA, and the dollars cannot be used elsewhere. The main source of transportation funds are gasoline and other usage taxes. These are not social welfare taxes.

 

Thank you for the insight on that (I had no idea about any of that), but isn't it still possible to say that those dollars intrinsically benefit certain demographics moreso than others? Not by specific targeting of course, but that's how most of this stuff works in our country today.

Yes those roads are benefiting the people who are using them, but again the funds for those roads are mainly coming from usage taxes (mainly gas taxes). If you arent driving, then you aren't paying the taxes that fund the road construction. Income taxes and property taxes are not paying for large capital highway projects.

[Moiraine]

 

 

 

The main reason the Dodge Street overpass is a terrible example of white privilege and poor use of tax dollars is that the project was most likely funded by the Federal and State level of highway and transportation funds. The Dodge Street overpass did not take funding away from local social expenses.

 

Almost all of roads and highways are funded from the FHWA, and the dollars cannot be used elsewhere. The main source of transportation funds are gasoline and other usage taxes. These are not social welfare taxes.

 

Thank you for the insight on that (I had no idea about any of that), but isn't it still possible to say that those dollars intrinsically benefit certain demographics moreso than others? Not by specific targeting of course, but that's how most of this stuff works in our country today.

Yes those roads are benefiting the people who are using them, but again the funds for those roads are mainly coming from usage taxes (mainly gas taxes). If you arent driving, then you aren't paying the taxes that fund the road construction. Income taxes and property taxes are not paying for large capital highway projects.

 

I mentioned Omaha is now implementing a 6 cent gas tax for new road stuff. I wasn't able to find the source for the Dodge overpass. Have you found it? And I stayed $20 million was paid for by Omaha. That part I was able to find. $80 million was paid by federal.

[Moiraine]

Sales tax is used for special big highway projects now too.

[ColoradoHusk]

Ok, so Omaha probably pitched in $20 million for the Dodge Street overpass. It was most likely funded by the issuance of bonds to be paid by future gasoline taxes.

 

Gasoline taxes are the closest thing you will find to user taxes that you will see (next to tolls). I don't know how much clearer I can't make this. A city can't issue a gas tax and then use those funds for public welfare and social projects. Gas taxes have to be used on construction and maintenance projects.

 

Also, in order to receive $80 million of federal highway funds, the state/city has to put in a % of the overall project costs.

[ColoradoHusk]

I haven't looked into the exact funding and expenses for the Dodge Street overpass or other highway/street projects in Omaha or other areas of Nebraska. I am going off my first-hand experience while working in the finance and budget office for the Colorado Department of Transportation. I directly worked with the cities in the Denver region to fund various street construction projects. I understand the various sources of funding for these projects. I am assuming that the NDOR and City of Omaha operates in a similar manner. The simple fact is that a dollar of tax revenue is not always the same. Most of it depends on the source of revenue. Also, a dollar of city expense is not always the same.

 

As far as wanting to live in the suburbs or nice areas of a city, I don't think it's a white thing. I would say that it's a societal thing. I would think most people, regardless of race, want to live in a big house with a big yard, in nice schools. I live in a suburb of Denver, and there are plenty of black, asian, and Hispanic kids in my kids' school. I realize that there are other suburbs in the Denver area that are more predominately "white" but that happens everywhere. In Nebraska, I would say there is a smaller % of minoriites compared to Colorado or other states, so the suburbs are going to be more "white" anyway.

[Moiraine]

Ok, so Omaha probably pitched in $20 million for the Dodge Street overpass. It was most likely funded by the issuance of bonds to be paid by future gasoline taxes.

 

Gasoline taxes are the closest thing you will find to user taxes that you will see (next to tolls). I don't know how much clearer I can't make this. A city can't issue a gas tax and then use those funds for public welfare and social projects. Gas taxes have to be used on construction and maintenance projects.

 

Also, in order to receive $80 million of federal highway funds, the state/city has to put in a % of the overall project costs.

I dont know where you got the idea that anyone anywhere thinks the bolded is what should happen.

 

And again, there has been a sales tax in Omaha since 2013 that goes toward roads. Don't know if there was one for the expressway. I do know that one of the roads paid for in part by the sales tax is a highway travelled by people commuting from a small town into Omaha. The people who work in that town are helping pay for a road they probably use 1/10th as much as the people using it to work in Omaha.