On Tuesday, President Obama brought his vision of middle class empowerment through home ownership to one of Phoenix’s wealthiest suburbs. He laid out a series of big-government solutions to problems that, for the community he spoke to, simply don’t exist. Mr. Obama spoke at Desert Vista High School in Ahwatukee Foothills, south of downtown. Ahwatukee is known locally as “All-white-tukee” because of its relative lack of diversity. “Also known as Pleasantville,” chides Urban Dictionary, “recognizable by the ‘cookie-cutter’ style homes.” Says another entry, Ahwatukee equals “Pleasantville + Silvertown (Joe Dirt) + Leave it to Beaver.” In summary, “a snooty boring-ass suburb of Phoenix.” Mr. Obama employed his usual stock phrases making the case for reshaping the housing sector, but little probably rang true to his audience of upper-upper-middle-class teens. “We’ve been fighting our way back from a devastating recession,” he said, “that cost millions of Americans their jobs, their homes, and their savings.” Yes, kids in Ahwatukee probably read about that. “We were living through a decade where a few at the top were doing better and better,” he continued, “while most families were working harder and harder just to get by.” Wait, was this dig at the affluent some subtle form of irony? According to City-data, the neighborhood directly across the street from Desert Vista High has an average family income of $103,050, which is more than twice the average for the state. In class warfare terms, Ahwatukee is fighting on defense.
(Excerpt) Read more at rare.us ...
