The eleven counties in VA4 have diverse economic profiles, as shown.
Urban communities have substantially higher incomes than rural communities. As such, in concert with numerous community development experts, I plan to implement a rural revitalization program for small and small farms towns--many of which have not recovered from the 2009 Recession. For more detail on my rural revitalization program, refer to our Jobenomics Rural Virginia initiative in the Jobenomics section. While our rural revitalization program has many turnkey programs, this initiative is still in the development phase and will require your input and support to implement within my first term in Congress. As such, I plan to hold town hall meetings in each county before the election to generate federal support and funding on day-one in Washington. Even though VA4’s urban communities have higher household incomes, significant income disparities (inequalities) exist. This median household income map of Richmond is representative of the income disparities of other VA4 urban areas (Petersburg, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Wakefield, Emporia, and Franklin). The light-colored areas of this map show low-income areas (Mosby neighborhood has the lowest income at $9,888) and the red-colored the highest (Wilton $231,750).
As your representative, my goal is to concentrate on raising the lowest-income neighborhoods by enlisting private sector financing and support from the wealthiest neighborhoods. As President Lincoln said, we “cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred,” nor can we “help the poor by destroying the rich.” Moreover, as coined by President Kennedy, “a rising tide lifts all boats.”
On 28 December 2019, I held our first town hall meeting on Jobenomics Richmond. Jobenomics Richmond is a proposed program for creating mixed-use, master-planned, locally-owned, live-work communities in under-resourced areas in Richmond with an emphasis on obtaining Qualified Opportunity Zone funding. This program will serve as a pilot program for other VA4 urban areas. For more detail on this urban renewal initiative, refer to our Jobenomics Richmond whitepaper and presentation here and in the Jobenomics section.
