Jackson Jambalaya

Byram: the new South Jackson

Animals. The area is simply infested with these animals.

http://www.wapt.com/news/police-search-for-suspect-who-carjacked-woman-at-school-bus-stop/35559594

$50 says it was this Ford Fusion.

Byram PD needs to put a stop to this...use some of that money they collect from all the traffic fines to fund some law enforcement.

Hmm...the city of Byram going after criminals? Nah, no profit in it. and besides, those criminals could be DANGEROUS?

This is very troubling... I can understand a motive in stealing a purse or car (not that it's right at all) but what is the motive of these - at least two offenders??? They attempt to kidnap this 50+ yr old woman in broad daylight from a busy shopping area in a Ford Fusion??? I don't normally buy into the whole "gang initiation" thing, but why go to the trouble of a kidnapping, using a small car, unless it is something like that... Extremely bizarre and scary.

Byram needs quit catering to HUD and cheap housing prices, even for country Mobile Homes. Haven't they learned that cheap prices breed crime? Sad stories and excuses aren't tolerated in other suburbs, so why do you accept them. Set the bar high, like Madison and Rankin Counties. To the bleedin hearts, yes, there will always be someone who breaks the law. Jackson continually says poverty and crime go together, so stop catering to the poverty stricken before it's too late.

Byram didn't approve all those apartment complexes. That was something Doug, George and crew did just to screw up Byram when it was fighting Jackson.

Kingfish: Yes it was. That was in the past. Its time to move forward. The complex owners that set the prices and conditions to rent the properties. What I've noticed is homeowners are renting their properties for much less than they should, which is complimenting the low price apartments. This is what needs to stop real quick and in a hurry.

12:51
You've got it backwards. The low-price apartments are keeping the homeowners from being able to charge what they should to rent their houses. Who wants to pay top dollar to live around HUD apartments?

12:51, so what you're saying is that the government should regulate housing prices?

1:09- Your taking a defeated attitude, please don't. Forget the small amount of HUD housing that is present in Byram exists. It's minimal and those living there are transient at best. Don't allow anymore low income housing new or used in the area. New homes/Condo's should be a minimum of 1800 square feet with 2 car garages...no carports. Model the rental regulations after Madison and the Reservoir communities, as they are keeping their property values high. Nobody should be able to rent a home or apartment in Byram for less than $1200/month with no HUD assistance. Offer quality and only accept the same. If you lower your standards, it will bring your area and achools down faster than you can imagine. Accept NO EXCUSES or SAD STORIES. Let Jackson and Canton be the nice guys...who finish last.

2:18
Not a defeated attitude at all. Simply realistic. In your first post you were talking about existing homes being rented by existing homeowners. In your second post you are talking about new builds. Apples and oranges. In the first instance, the homeowners could charge in excess of what you propose in the second and no one would rent their homes. Not happening. In the second instance, if people would charge what you suggest, all well and good. HUD renters are already in the city. Just try and restrict it now and watch the lawsuits pile up. Horse out of the barn. Madison looked ahead and was proactive in keeping prices high. Byram did not and was not.

Yes, it is apples and oranges.
You mentioned "In the first instance, the homeowners could charge in excess of what you propose in the second and no one would rent their homes." *** Of course there is a price point that renters will not pay. You need to be realistic. They pay for privacy, square footage, neighborhood cleanliness, good schools and a safe neighborhood.
 Both situations are examples of what is needed for Byram to compete with other bedroom communities, before it turns into another Jackson. That there is no law that says a homeowner must accept HUD or vouchers of any type. Just say no to "everyone" that receives housing assistance. That is not discrimination, it's your right as the property owner. No explanations of any type are needed, and should not be given. The same goes for FULL deposits at the time the lease is signed. Renters may not like it, but they will respect it and will do it to live in a nice area. All bedroom communities want new homes built. Some developer will always try to put small, cheap housing in, that is eligible for special money, geared to to the "disinfranchised", who can't afford a lawn mower, no less repairs to a home that was thrown together (maybe with good intentions like a Habitat Home) with silly putty and duct tape. Strict subdivision building codes and large lot size requirements can stop it. Unfortunately, there will always be poverty. It is up to individual communities to decide how or if they want to embrace it. They are in control of their own destiny.

5:36 mentions a 'price point at which renters will not pay'. But, he fails to consider that drug dealers and certain other entrepreneurs don't care how high the rent goes.

1:46 - They sure don't. Ever hear the adage, "crime lords generally won't live in the areas they do business in?" I believe it's true. That's why strong local law enforcement is needed. Given the choice, I'll live next door to a white collar crook, who keeps his blue collar thugs away from his home. Living in the "burbs" gives you a false sense of security that we are well aware of. We will also protect ourselves from those who don't belong in our neighborhoods, even if it means making an otherwise "whole looking" perp, look like a piece of "swiss cheese."

For all responders encouraging bedroom communities to keep property values high by excluding low-income citizens, understand that you are revealing exactly how these policies and practices you are characterizing and "great" and "proactive" are actually the impetus of the concentrated poverty that breeds the crime in places like Jackson that you lament. If "the poor will always be among us", then the best way to structure communities to productively address poverty is to make sure that the poverty is not concentrated into one area.


Concentrated poverty creates things like food desserts, poor performing schools, lack of business and economic development, and a poor tax base among other things. The covenants and exclusionary policies and practices that you are championing are the very things that concentrate poverty, thus bringing about all of the ills that many on here want to blame solely on the City of Jackson's "leadership" and the poor citizens in Jackson. These things go hand in hand, no society has self contained communities. The maintenance of "high property values" in these bedroom communities that champion these exclusionary policies and practices come at a cost of what we see in places like Jackson and Canton. Thanks for admitting this exploitative relationship between Jackson proper and its parasitic suburbs.

Here's a proven formula: Get a job, stop having children till you can support the ones you have, or better yet, don't have children until you can support them without receiving financial assistance, pay your bills on time to establish credit. I once worked with a person who made close to minimum wage who had one child. Over a period of time, she improved her credit and moved from the inner city. She worked full-time and finished a simple educational program that could be a stepping stone to a bright future. Not once did she say "I'm entitled or I deserve." or make excuses. She picked herself up and followed through. If this person can do it, how come the majority of those in the inner city don't. It's called "lack of motivation" and "if I wait long enough, somebody will bail me out."

@10:41, Simple question,
Did the person in your example have to live in a poor community, ravaged by concentrated poverty, in order to do the things that they did to become socially mobile? Imagine if more poor people lived in a community where the streets were safe, the schools were good, the food was healthier (access to more fresh produce), etc. How many more people would be able to do the things the person in your example did?

Why is there a need to for a community create "ghettoes"?

11:13
In your Pollyanna/Disney-movie world, what you propose might work.
In the real world, however, the only thing that would change when you move the thugs (yeah, that's right, I said it) from the inner city to a nicer area, is they would drag that neighborhood down to their level.
In your imaginary world they would suddenly become upstanding, hard-working, productive citizens of your Utopia. Grow up.
That is not human nature, never has been, never will be.
How many trillions have been spent since the 1960's on that. What a waste of resources.

@4:28

Nothing "Disney-movie" or "Pollyanna" about sound community development. Have you even considered that many of the people living in concentrated poverty environments have very limited options, or at least perceive that their options are limited? Very few people just commit crimes and make irresponsible life choices just for kicks. Many people in these contexts live lives of voiceless desperation.

But, if they had more options, perhaps they wouldn't see the need to commit aggravated assault, strong armed robbery, or decide that schooling is "not for them". Think about it, if a young man in poverty lived in a safe neighborhood, had a good education in a school taught by expert teachers and administrators, with advanced/college prep classes and he was able to win a full ride scholarship to the school of his choice, wouldn't that young man think twice about robbing a convenience store? Wouldn't he have more to lose than what he could gain from the robbery? wouldn't he have more confidence in himself and hope for his future?

That is the stuff of sound community development. Concentrated poverty is merely a social/political reality, the market nor "human nature" necessitate it. If more people of means were perhaps more conscientious of the human condition and more empathetic and respectful of the inherent human dignity in every person, perhaps the political winds would be different, and people wouldn't be so quick to demean and degrade the humanity of poor people, and thus feel no qualms about exploiting and demeaning them through exclusionary policies and practices like restrictive covenants and such. Our communities as a whole, and our world would be much better places.

"Think about it, if a young man in poverty lived in a safe neighborhood, had a good education in a school taught by expert teachers and administrators, with advanced/college prep classes"
*** True Story: his thug friends from Jackson visited and this "poor young man," (who, with his family, had relocated to a nice safe area as 5:01 described, with stories of struggles and survival) participated, as they stole the tires from vehicles parked in private driveways. All were arrested and convicted due to all being shown stripping the tires, on a crystal clear video surveillance tape from one of the homes. Funny, this child's current classmates weren't part of this team of thieves.

5:01
You, apparently, are a disciple of the Community-organizer-in-Chief in the White House. He also wants to force the citizens of this country to accept the people in THEIR neighborhoods that he thinks they should accept. I would LOVE to know just how many inner city residents live in his neighborhood in Chicago. I'd bet you a dollar to a donut the answer is zero.
I want to associate with the people I want to associate with. Not someone you, or anyone else, thinks it would be best for me to associate with. If you don't like that, bugger off a-hole, I don't care what you think.
Just how many inner city residents do you have living in your neighborhood? If that's what you want, fine. Invite them in and enjoy the fruits of your labors. Please feel free to post some documentation indicating that that is what you have done. Until then, like I said, bugger off a-hole.

""Think about it, if a young man in poverty lived in a safe neighborhood, had a good education in a school taught by expert teachers and administrators, with advanced/college prep classes""

Jeepers, Wally - what if that young man DIDN'T get all those advantages, and had to succeed on his own with his mother's foot firmly planted in his behind while she drilled traditional religious values into him? Instead of your bullshit utopia he might have become the world's leading pediatric neurosurgeon and the second-highest polling candidate running for POTUS, with all those evil racist Repubs supporting him because if his character and his accomplishments.

But dream on anyway with your-long-winded BS.

Like I stated before, residential segregation and the concentrated poverty it helps to create are merely political realities and are not necessary. The responses to my posts bear out that people don't seem to care about real solutions and want to hide behind stereotypes about poor , minority people being lazy, immoral, undisciplined and unintelligent. All the while they just turn a blind eye to the policies and practices, enacted and supported by supposed intelligent, "God-fearing", moral and disciplined people, that actually characterize the conditions under which poor people must live. Like I stated before, if but the political winds were different.

Also, Ben Caron running for president doesn't make these policies and practices effective ways to address the poverty in our communities. For every Carson, there are thousands who drown senselessly in these communities. Are we really interested in solutions, or are we happy with harboring low regard for people who don't look like, think like, pray like, or believe like us?

8:36 I realize you are probably not educable but here's reality: People act in their own best interest, and their family's (read: children's) best interest. It's not a big conspiracy ploy - people just work hard, save their money, and move to where it is safe with good schools, a public infrastructure, and job opportunities. The people that are left behind can fend for themselves. If they wise up and pursue those recommendations from 10:41 (and every other reasonable person on the planet) they, too, can improve their lot in life. My concern is my children's future prospects, not a bunch of self-destructive strangers. Keep your hands out of my wallet - that money is for my kids' college tuition, or my retirement. Nothing else.

Exactly 9:39,

I'm sure your pastor of your church, which I'm sure you belong, affirms the self interest that drives you to be indifferent to down right hostile toward the poor and vulnerable in our communities. I'm sure the Jesus of the Bible that you hold sacred is just rejoicing over how the people of means in our state, the most churched state in the Union, hoard resources and exploit poverty and poor people (through things like depressed wages for labor, inadequate funding for public schools, lack of access to health care, etc.) so that they can live in the security of segregation. Tis truly Heaven on Earth!!!! (sarcasm)

10:00- You need to be preaching to a group of gullible refugees that you can brain wash. Attitudes like yours, breed laziness and no desire to be accountable for ones actions. Your quick to find fault with everyone who is striving to, or has become more successful than you and your peers. The only segregation that is present in Jackson, is in the minds of those like yourself, who prey on the poor and under educated, only showing and reinforcing ideas that cause them to dig themselves deeper into poverty and dispare.

In typical moronic, yet oh-so-sure that they are, you know, smarter, better & more caring, than those they attempt to lecture, 10:00 doesn't seem to know that our state (you know, the poorest in the Union) gives more to charity and churches do more to help those poor downtrodden, yet noble, souls in our midst, than any other state in the Union. Apparently that is nowhere near enough for our little Sociology major. Bless its little heart.