Chapter 407: Chapter 189: The Shadow of Prosperity (Part 3)
"Last week, his landlord told him the rent was going up from eight hundred to eighteen hundred."
"He couldn’t afford it."
"So, he was kicked out."
"Even on Christmas. Even with snow falling outside."
"This is your prosperity, Mr. Mayor."
Alina turned and glared at Leo.
"You saved this city. You made Pittsburgh beautiful and attractive."
"But you’re driving out the city’s people."
"You’re clearing out the original residents like they’re trash, just to make room for high-salaried newcomers."
"That’s crueler than poverty."
Leo looked out the window.
The little girl seemed cold, huddling closer into her mother’s arms.
Leo felt a hand clench tightly around his heart.
He opened the car door and got out.
He walked over to the family.
Leo pulled out his wallet and took out all the cash inside—a few hundred US Dollars.
He tried to hand the money to the man, Jose.
Jose recognized him.
He looked at the money offered to him but didn’t take it.
He shook his head.
"I don’t need a handout, Mr. Mayor," Jose said. "This isn’t your fault. You’ve made Pittsburgh a better place, brought jobs here."
The man glanced down at his own rough hands.
"I was forced out simply because I’m not skilled enough. I can’t find a job that pays enough to afford the rent."
"ACHOO!"
A sneeze interrupted him.
The little girl huddled nearby rubbed her nose and buried her face deep in her mother’s arms.
Snowflakes landed on her thin jacket, melting almost instantly.
Jose froze.
He looked at his shivering daughter, and his eyes immediately reddened.
A man’s pride, shattered by a single sneeze from his daughter.
He extended a trembling hand and took the money Leo offered.
"Thank you... Thank you, Mr. Mayor."
The man’s voice was choked with emotion.
Leo turned around and looked at Alina, who was standing by the car.
"Alina, you have to understand."
"I don’t know how long you’ve been here, but five years ago, this street belonged to drug dealers. There were gunshots every night. That little girl wouldn’t have even dared to play outside during the day."
"The rent was cheap back then, sure—only three hundred a month. But the cost was your own safety."
"No one dared to invest here. No one dared to open a shop. This place was a dead zone."
"I’ve made it safe now. I’ve given it commercial value."
"But progress always comes at a cost."
Leo tried to explain, to build a defense with rational logic.
"When a neighborhood improves, housing prices inevitably go up. That’s a law of economics."
"We can’t let this place rot forever and remain a slum just because we’re afraid of rent going up."
"I’m not trying to drive them out."
"I’m saving this community."
"’Saving the community?’" Alina scoffed. "You’re saving the buildings, not the people."
"You’ve fixed up the houses, but the people are gone."
"If that’s your logic, then how are you any different from those vampires on Wall Street?"
"That’s what they say, too. All for the sake of efficiency, of appreciation, of the damn laws of economics."
Leo fell silent.
He looked at the old furniture covered in snow.
That furniture held all the traces of this family’s life, and now it was just trash on the side of the road.
He was reminded of his original purpose. He had run for office to make life better for people just like them.
But now, his success had become their nightmare.
It was a paradox.
A paradox that no city manager could escape.
To revitalize a city, you had to bring in capital and high-income earners. But the influx of capital inevitably drove up the cost of living, squeezing out the original residents.
The more successful he was, the faster the process became.
He was creating a new kind of injustice with his own hands.
Leo asked in his mind, ’Mr. President, is this the only way?’
Roosevelt’s voice was heavy.
"Yes, Leo."
"This is the cruel nature of progress."
"When the train picks up speed, some people always get left behind."
"You can’t have everyone sitting in first class."
"But that doesn’t mean you can turn a blind eye."
"It doesn’t mean you can, with a clear conscience, chalk it all up to the laws of economics."
"You are the Mayor."
"If the invisible hand of the market is killing people, then you must use your visible hand to hold them up."
"You can’t stop rents from rising—that’s the market at work—but you can build shelters."
"You can create regulations."
"That is why you need power."
Leo took a deep breath.
"Alina."
Leo looked at the angry girl.
"You’re right."
"My eyes were only focused on the big picture before—on the grand statistics, the budgets, the cranes."
"I thought that if I just made the pie bigger, everyone would get a piece."
"I was wrong."
"Some people’s arms are too short to reach the table."
"Some are too weak and get shoved away from the table."
Leo pointed at the apartment building.
"To be honest, a rent control act and a low-income housing plan... they’re all in Ethan’s proposals."
"But according to the original timeline, they were slated for next year, or even the year after."
"I didn’t expect Pittsburgh to develop this quickly."
"I underestimated the side effects of prosperity."
Leo looked at Alina.
"So, we’re moving up the timetable."
"Tomorrow morning at nine, bring your tenants’ union to my office."
"Bring your data, your demands, and all your anger."
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