How does this isolated underclass get to the middle class. Except for areas that are going through the process of gentrification there is very little contact between the two groups.
I am saying that with an economic crisis like the Great Depression (GD), coupled with our secularization, our ongoing collapse could get much uglier, crimewise, than the GD was.
Where I disagree is in the premise that with hard economic times the underclass will expand and crime will grow. After the GD govt. installed all kinds of safety nets for individuals as well as business. Thus with a very severe recession we will probably see the role of govt increase and a loss of individual freedom but out of control crime is unlikely.
The underclass is not expanding. The underclass is already largely isolated. The underclass commits most of it's crime on itself.
>>How does this isolated underclass get to the middle class.<<
Y’know, Fred does mention the utter separation in the Chicago area in one of his other articles. It is not that way in Seattle. The poor neighborhoods are close in and slowly being gobbled up by upper middle class homeowners. It has been amazing to watch since I was a commercial RE agent in the late 70’s to early 80’s. They have total access to all neighborhoods using various methods from busses to cars. The middle class interacts with them daily here. I saw it in Cincinnati and in Detroit as well, not to mention Newark.
>>The underclass is not expanding. The underclass is already largely isolated. The underclass commits most of it’s crime on itself.<<
So far...