Friday, March 6, 2009

Why the Poor Stay Poor

The New York Times recently ran a book review about William Julius Wilson's book, More Than Just Race: Being Black and Poor in the Inner City, which is full of quotables perfect for the blog. I could quote the first five paragraphs but I'll let you read the article for yourself.

I will leave behind this quote:

"Meanwhile, economic and demographic changes that had nothing to do with race aggravated the problems of the ghetto. Encouraged by recently built highways and inexpensive real estate, middle-class residents and industry left the inner city to relocate to roomier and less costly digs in the suburbs during the ’60s and ’70s. Those jobs that remained available to urban blacks further dwindled as companies replaced well-paid and unionized American workers with automation and cheaper overseas labor. The new economy produced most of its jobs at the two poles of the wage scale: high-paying jobs for the well educated and acculturated (lawyers, bankers, management consultants) and low-paying jobs for those with little education or skills (fast food, telemarketing, janitorial services)."

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