As the War in Afghanistan comes to an end, there is major refugee problem. There are all sorts of numbers floating around (50,000-65,000). The weird thing is that so many people in this country will scream that we need to help these people out and we cannot abandon them to the Taliban. But then they freak out at the idea of bringing them to the United States. Obviously there needs to be vetting process and once that happens, I say bring them over. And I have the perfect place to relocate them:
Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
Hear me out. This city’s population has declined by 10% or more over the last decade. And it dropped by 10% in the previous decade. That is not good. So…why not infuse the area with a group of people who would gladly take root and help build a community.
Use Federal money to help fix the blighted houses and work with community businesses to find jobs for them (trust me, there are plenty of jobs out there). It would take time, but in a few years the community would benefit from the investment. Maybe Johnstown could see a revitalization. I am not saying we take all of the refugees, but 5,000 to 10,000 would have a positive impact on the city. Granted, this would only work if the local government and business leaders worked with the Federal government to help integrate them into our community. It would be bad to just plop them down here and be like “okay, have at it!” But instead, help them find places to live, jobs, etc.
And yes, I realize some people will be opposed to this idea. The NOT IN MY BACKYARD crowd. Screw ’em. There would be some positive impacts for the rest of the city as well. For one thing, maybe all of these places that are hiring could find some workers. That would be nice. Okay, an increase in population would also mean more tax money. Also, the local government would probably be eligible for some Federal grants or something (I have no clue, I am just spit-balling here).
How do I go about making this happen?
