Opinion of Kiryas Joel, New York

[old timey villain]

The Hasidic capital of America!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiryas_Joel,_New_York

Some stats:
 -youngest median age of any town of its size in the US
-highest poverty rate in the nation
-40% on food stamps
-89% of residents speak Yiddish at home
-Has one of the only religious based school districts in America
-Welcome sign has a community dress code for visitors

Shining example of religious freedom or hasidic hellhole?

[old timey villain]

They want to expand!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2FaX8No8V4

Honestly, the whole community seems unsustainable. They want to double the size, and probably the population in a very short time, but with the poverty rate so high and a large proportion of residents being children, they won't have the tax base or revenue to maintain their city services and eventually the county and the state of New York will get sick of keeping them afloat.

[old timey villain]

Not really the sort of place that I'd like to live in, but I've no problem with it.

I think also that some of you have an unrealistically dark picture of existence there based on those statistics. So let me be the one to point out that Hasids are not stupid and that while they don't much like the modern world (can't really blame them for that, given certain events) they are more than capable of working out how to use the state to their advantage. It isn't really the poorest place in America, it is only statistically so.

In short, they are crooks.

In 1994, the NY state legislature went against a Supreme Court ruling to give Kyrias Joel its own school district for mentally handicapped children. But since most of the kids don't go to public schools the town just used the funds for the all powerful community synagogue.

[old timey villain]

Holy hell, the town went 92% McCain!

real 'merica.

[old timey villain]

High poverty...high welfare usage...refusal to speak English or assimilate into American culture...

Why aren't Republicans frothing at the mouth over this place on Fox News? These people are basically doing what conservatives are convinced that all Hispanic/Muslim/Asian immigrants do.

4 main differences:

1. They're white
2. Traditional Values (dress code, pressured to reproduce)
3. They vote heavily for republicans (see above post)
4. Religious schools

So being a mooching 47 Percenter who feels entitled to government help and won't care for their lives is fine as long as you're white and conform to Judeo-Christian values and vote for the right party?

Yes, it's really that simple for the fox news crowd.

Although I will say that the residents do seem like good people who are just looking for a place to practice their extremely unique religion. The problem I have is that they seem to expect the government to subsidize their way of life and even give them special considerations, which is not cool in my opinion. The Amish don't ask for as much from what I hear.