Chapter 416: Chapter 192: Pittsburgh’s Answer (3)
"We are living in this hell."
Leo’s gaze swept over the mounted camera lenses.
"We’ve seen the chaos at the border, the anxiety of the middle class, the drug-infested streets, and a society where trust has crumbled."
"These are all symptoms."
"In Washington, people argue about the causes of these symptoms. They blame each other. They pass the buck."
"But in Pittsburgh, we don’t argue."
"We just solve problems."
Leo stretched out his hand, pointing out the window toward the revitalized Hill District.
"Look here. This place was once one of Pittsburgh’s deepest wounds."
"Drugs, violence, unemployment—all the cancers of American society were present here in full force."
"But now, it’s our showcase."
"It’s the answer we’re providing."
Leo began to elaborate on the self-contained logic of what was being called the "Pittsburgh Plan."
"Regarding immigration and the workforce."
"The elites in Washington look at their reports in their offices and say we’re experiencing a labor shortage, while the governor of Texas puts immigrants on buses and says we’re experiencing a refugee crisis."
"This in itself is a huge irony."
"What we’re doing in Pittsburgh is breaking this paradox."
"We don’t need to wait for those bureaucratic agencies of the Federation to slowly vet identities. We established the New Resident Settlement Services Center."
"If you’re willing to work, we give you a city resident ID card."
"With this card, you can work in a factory, you can repair roads, you can send your children to school, and you can get medical care at a community hospital."
"We took the budget originally used for policing and driving out the homeless and invested it all into vocational training."
"We teach them how to operate excavators, how to repair pipes, how to install solar panels."
"And the result?"
A proud smile touched the corners of Leo’s mouth.
"The result is that our construction sites are no longer short-staffed, and our project completion rates are the fastest in the state. The immigrants who were once seen as a burden are now the engine of our city’s revival."
"They pay taxes, they spend money, they’ve become part of the community."
"We didn’t build a wall. We built a bridge."
Next, Leo spoke about housing.
"This is perhaps the biggest headache for every American right now. Housing prices are absurdly high, and rent devours more than half of their wages."
"The market has failed."
"And since the market has failed, the government must step in."
"The community land trust we’ve implemented in the Hill District is designed to take the land back from speculators."
"The government funds the buyback of vacant land and turns it over to the community trust for management. The houses on this land can never be sold, only leased."
"And the rent is determined by the tenant’s income."
"We have a rule: the rent cap can never exceed thirty percent of a household’s monthly income."
"This means that no matter how much money you make, you never have to worry about not being able to afford rent, and you never have to worry about being kicked out by your landlord."
"This gives people a sense of security."
"When a person is no longer worried about the roof over their head, only then do they dare to spend, dare to start a business, dare to dream."
"That’s why our community businesses have been able to recover, and why so many small shops have appeared on our streets."
"Because people dare to spend money again."
Regarding drugs and public safety, Leo’s proposed solution was even more radical.
"We don’t arrest addicts."
As soon as he said this, a stir went through the reporters below.
"Arresting them doesn’t solve the problem," Leo explained. "You lock an addict in prison, spend taxpayer money to support them for a few years, and then release them. They have no job, no skills. Their life is still hopeless. They’ll just go back to using drugs and committing crimes."
"It’s a vicious cycle."
"In Pittsburgh, we took the money that would have been spent on building prisons and used it to build factories."
"We offer those addicts jobs."
"Even if it’s just sweeping the streets, even if it’s just hauling bricks."
"We tell them, as long as you show up for work on time every morning, we’ll pay you. But there’s a condition: you have to pass a urine test every morning."
"If you pass, you get your full wages. If you fail, you only get half. The other half is mandatorily deposited into your rehabilitation account."
"We replace drugs with work, and pleasure with dignity."
"When a person discovers they can support themselves with their own two hands and earn the respect of their neighbors, they no longer need that cheap, chemical illusion."
Leo paused, his tone turning cold.
"Of course, for the stubborn ones who refuse to change, who even try to sell drugs on our work sites, we also have an ultimate solution."
"If you’ve given up on yourself, if you choose to become a cancer on this community..."
"Then Pittsburgh will no longer hold any illusions about you."
"We will strip you of all benefits and send you to the harshest rehabilitation center."
"You will spend the rest of your life there, until you get clean, or until you die."
"The data proves it."
Leo pointed to a report in his hand.
"In the past month, the drug-related death rate in the Hill District has dropped by ninety percent, and theft cases have dropped by eighty percent."
"We haven’t added a single police officer, but the streets have become safer."
Finally, Leo addressed the grandest topic of all: trust.
"Senator Sanders says that American society is being torn apart, that people no longer trust each other, and no longer trust the government."
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