I’m not sure how long or how many issues have stemmed within the Memphis City School system.  But I do know and remember how serious it was to my parents that I attended a “decent” public school by the time I reached high school. Before that, it seemed as though the schools in my resident district was sufficient enough but within the three years of middle school, that all changed.  The high school that I was assigned to by the city was not a decent school that produced great academic progress that impressed my parents enough to send me there. So, as a result, my parents and I worked hard to get me into an optional program outside of my resident district that was more credible.  Now, just a short five years later I hear more frequently in the news that many public schools are branching off from the Shelby County/MCS system, raising taxes to raise money, and becoming independent institutions.  In my opinion, this is not just a divide within the school system but a divide within the community and the city of Memphis and surrounding areas as a whole.  It saddens me when I think about my baby sister who is a junior in high school because her education can not be the top priority of school officials and leaders with all the other commotion arising. I hope this problem can be resolved effectively real soon otherwise, I would have to consider becoming a resident elsewhere, unfortunately.  I actually would hate to leave my home town because the city is decaying.

Many people who live in Memphis work two jobs just to make ends meet.  I recall a time in my life when I worked at FedEx;  many people who worked their were holding down full time jobs.  Many people have worked at FedEx, it is supposedly one of the better paying jobs in Memphis, their are other jobs that pay so called good wages but not many.  There are less and less jobs in Memphis mostly due to outsourcing, but also because of jobs moving out of the city to other areas.  I don’t blame the lack of jobs solely on city leadership and the business people.  The citizens of Memphis must educate themselves, they must use their creativity and innovative skills to create jobs for themselves, and this will eliminate poverty.

You can find assistance to help pay your utility bills, help with medical bills, health care costs, rent, food assistance programs, credit card debt, and many other government assistance programs. So why are there people who seem to think that helping people is so wrong?

There are many people today that think government assistance is the problem with our nation. People believe that if we cut these programs then the ones that need the help will not be so dependent on the government and will be forced to earn money on their own. They also think that their tax dollars should be spent on more important things such as War.

These programs that help the less fortunate, does allow growth. People who receive them are put a step ahead to improve their life and better themselves. I know a few young ladies who are full time mothers, students, and workers who get food stamps or childcare services. Once they are in a better position to provide every necessity needed for their child and themselves, then they should end all assistance.

I know now a days everyone believes that people who are dependent on the government are trying to get over. That might be true for some but not all, you cant just cut programs because you believe its only wasting tax dollars, because there are many other funded programs that might not be as important then helping the poor.

Pot holes in Memphis are nothing new, they have been around for a long time, and there are more in some areas than others.  I have noticed some improvements within the last couple of weeks.  The question is, will these improvements continue to a point of sufficiency?  For months my panel and I have been discussing the pot hole issue in Memphis and we have pointed out that there should be enough funds in the city budget to get the job done.  We have been speaking out on my radio program, The Love Power Show AM1600 WMQM on Sundays at 12 noon.  The citizens of Memphis must make their voices heard by speaking out.

The state of Tennessee has a serious drug problem when it comes to abusing prescription pain killers. This is not only a drug problem in the state but a growing health concern across the Nation. According to a report from the Center for Disease Control & Prevention, located in Atlanta, showed that Tennessee lead the nation with the most prescriptions for pain killer drugs than any other state. As well as Alabama. In Tennessee, the average pills to people is 143 to 100. Common pain killers are; Vicodin (hydrocodone and acetaminophen), Oxycontin (oxycodone), opana (oxymorphone), and methadone. Health Care providers wrote 259 million prescriptions for pain killers in 2012.Thats enough for almost every American over the age of 21 to have 1 full bottle of pain killers. 1 Full bottle is all a person needs to overdose on Pain killers. With the heavy movement of prescriptions being written for these common pain killers has increased the number of overdoses across the United States. Over 46 overdoses are reported daily across the U.S. due to the excessive use of pain killers. According to the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, 221,000 Tennessee Citizens over the age of 21 have used pain killers for non-medicinal purposes over the past year. 69,000 of these people are addicted and require treatment to recover. There needs to be more control on these addicting drugs. Databases need to be monitored more properly and proper examining of doctor’s repetition on pain killers prescriptions. Unused pain killers should be discarded properly by dissolving them, flushing them, or even distribute them to drug recycling companies. As of August hydrocodone combination pills were rescheduled from Schedule III to Schedule II due to the over prescribing across the nation and the amount of overdoses as well. Hopefully this has a positive affect on this topic.

Everywhere I drive almost, I see pot holes and damaged streets. This is an issue that every native want to be fixed. There has been so many car flats because of this issue. I recall one day while riding on the express way trying to avoid the damage parts of the road, later ran over a pot hole which caused my back tires to flatten. I think this issue in the city of  Memphis, has been going on for so long and again many people are affected by it. I remember hearing a complaint from a memphian  complain about this issue, and wanted some results. NOw I heard this on the news the summer of this year and there’s still no result. I have practically lived here all of my life and my parents mention how the roads has always been damage and reckless toward cars. I am so interested about this problem because I do believe it is important for every driver in this city to travel safe from one place to another. Even though I realize how expensive it may be, but apparently the city doesn’t have the funds to complete this problem.  Recently I researched how people are affected and what the city major is doing about this issue. And while reading I stumble across financial problems in Memphis stated by certain people that live in Memphis, and also they are getting a plan to fix the roads. Honestly this is probably my biggest problem in this city because wherever you drive the streets are terrible. Now with an exception of  the suburbs such as Germantown, and Arlington which is the area I stay. I do understand that those small communities have their separate intensities but without the city of Memphis there would not be a Arlington. So I feel as if everybody to should help in financial ways to pave the way for smooth streets for people to be safe.

I am convinced that it must be something in the water here in Memphis! What happened to kids going out and having fun doing normal stuff?

The parking lot attack at Kroger was unacceptable. I mean, what is going on in your mind to make you randomly attack someone?! When I was in high school, fun for me was the local skating rink, the movies, and high school parties. Some of my peers were reckless, but not nearly as bad as these children. If its not marijuana, its sex, and if not sex then its violence like this. It’s bad enough that they fight each other but to attack someone that’s not bothering you; there has to be some serious issues or plain old boredom.

These kids don’t understand that it is a privilege to do these things they are able to do without supervision. They cant go to the movies after a certain time and now they’re possibly threatening other freedoms they have. Just what if the city said,”No child under 18 will be able to be out after 6 pm.”? What about that 17 year old mother who needs milk at the last minute, after 6?  My point is these children need to be taught a lesson somehow, every single one of them, and they need to understand for every action there is a reaction. They are showing us that they are not afraid of anything; it’s time to help them get rid of that mentality.

Domestic violence is a steadily increasing issue in our society. Recently, as in the last month or so, we’ve witnessed SEVERAL deaths and unfortunate altercations in the city of Memphis alone. Not to take away from the importance on violence against men, but almost every case we hear or read about is mostly woman centered. The first questions that come to mind when I hear about about a domestic violence dispute is ” why weren’t these issues nipped in the bud from the start?” or ” How did the violence progress so much that it lead to this ending?” This brought me to consider the tactics that we are given to help prevent harm caused to women. The main tactic I want to discuss is the restraining/ protective order.  I chose this topic because I never fully understood the purpose of a restraining order in a dangerous life threatening situation.  My main concern is what good will a piece of paper, ordered from the courts, do me if my attacker won’t acknowledge it or temporarily stops their behavior? Most cases I hear about either involves a current relationship, marriage, or an ex relationship. An example would be the killing of a local Memphis woman a few weeks back at a daycare center. Reportedly, the couple was going through a divorce, and she had already experienced issues with violence because her husband a previous record from back in 2009 when he almost choked her to death.  Supposedly, the woman had a restraining order on file. As we all know restraining orders expire. My argument is to change the law on restraining orders by taking extra necessary steps to help prevent future attacks. In Tennessee, the judge can decide if your case is extreme enough to even file for a restraining order, which I though was preposterous. Who are they to decide how severe your case is? I do understand that they have to regulate cases somehow, but i doubt anyone would take the time out to file for a restraining order if they thought that they really didn’t need one. I feel like a restraining order really doesn’t do anything , but if a person chooses to file one they should be automatically granted  legal rights. Another issue is the process of getting a restraining order. In  the state of Tennessee you have to obtain the necessary forms, fill them out correctly, wait for the service of process, attend a hearing, prove your case worthy of a restraining order, and hope that the court agrees with you and then you’ll have to attend a full court hearing for a final decision. Now, within the time it takes for all of this to occur, you’re still in danger unknowingly to the COURTS! Meaning, if you are lucky enough to have a attacker who is worried about going to jail, they can still abuse, stalk and threaten you without legal precautions. I think we should push the courts to tweak their process on restraining orders and consider the fact that somethings shouldn’t be up for consideration when it comes to safety.

Living, or rather surviving, in the working-class, low-income side of Memphis is a struggle that is laced with hardship and stress. Many of the people who come from these areas work several jobs that pay far less than a living wage, so, even with all their effort, they are still unable to pay bills and take care of families.  The money that they are able to keep gets spent on necessities at other large companies that have the same fashion of a work force. Poor communities have a serious problem with divestment. The jobs created by large companies pay tiny wages that get sucked back into the company before the next pay period. Even worse, because of the PILOT program, these businesses, like FedEx, get huge tax breaks that seriously take away from the benefit of ever having the company in town in the first place. This allows companies to make a huge profit off the backs of economically disadvantaged people.

Sad thing is that the city government keeps letting large companies get tax breaks through the PILOT program making it far easier for the business to suck money out of the local economy. Once people spend money at Walmart, Home Depot, or any fast-food restaurant, that money is gone from the local economy to wherever that business stashes its money. None of it is invested in the local economy and job creation is a joke because they give people very little hours and pay far less than a living wage.  Without the tax money there is a lack of funds with which the government can create programs and institutions to fix problems that working class people face.

It could be use to fix the police pension problem or used to bolster education in the inner city. TCAP and EOC scores for students in the inner city are fare lower than those of kids in the municipalities, and more than 10 schools were closed last year. Poor educational programs lead to people, having a lack of skills, only being able to work low paying jobs, and they can never make enough to invest their money into something that will benefit the community. Lots of people in the working class work the same job all their lives, without a raise or promotion. Then their children come into the same cycle.

Many of the children of the people in the working-class have to live in a household run by stressed, and often single, parents. Having no programs in the community in which the kids can get involved leads them finding destructive ways to act out. By the time a lot of the young people of the community graduate from high school they have drug charges, theft or some violent crime charge. They are then rendered ineligible for employment. Those who didn’t commit crimes had better have great grades to go off to college or enroll in a trade school. If not they are hurled into the workforce with all of its atrocities.

Poor people are in this light a commodity for big business to use to build the dreams of its CEOs. The poverty is created by the money being funneled out of the community and dangling job opportunities in front of its members. They latch on because at least then they wont end up homeless, and they have an ounce of dignity purchased by the minimum wage.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/local-news/city-hall/tax-breaks-for-businesses-face-criticism-in-memphis-city-council-session_59607932

http://www.commercialappeal.com/business/study-corporate-tax-dodgers-names-memphis-based-fe