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8» SOLVING PROBLEM S I N POOR CIT Y NEIGHBORHOOD S No seriou s discussio n o f America n societ y ca n avoi d th e tangl e o f pathology foun d i n poor cit y neighborhoods. Places such as East St. Louis, Nort h Philadelphia , Camden , an d Chicago' s Sout h Sid e suffe r from a dangerous concentration of violent crime, drug and alcohol abuse, and dependency . This arra y o f afflictions , combine d wit h a n absenc e of jobs, continues to discourage and baffle an y attempt at a solution. RACE, CLASS , AND POVERTY For thirty years, bold national initiatives and comprehensive schemes have bee n offere d t o reliev e poverty—dru g wars , educatio n reforms , welfare reforms , year s o f th e child , an d toug h anticrim e talk . Withal , the qualit y o f lif e i n ghett o neighborhood s ha s worsene d t o th e poin t that they are now among the most dangerous places in the world. It is true that marginal, ameliorative, and preventative programs have created jobs for som e people and hav e moderated th e problems fo r som e poor fami lies . But such programs have been insufficient t o slow the deterioration i n the quality of life of poor neighborhoods. The national search for a conceptually coherent , efficacious , practical , an d broad-range d "Answer " has failed . 167 168 WRONG FO R ALL THE RIGHT REASONS I have spent much of my professional lif e contributing to this faile d search. My first "real " job was with Trenton's community action program in 196 5 wher e I worked wit h communit y leader s an d group s an d non profit an d publi c agencies developing funding proposals . I worked wit h the staf f o f th e Whit e Hous e Tas k Forc e o n Citie s durin g Lyndo n Johnson's presidency. Returning to New Jersey, I was the special assistant to a reform-minded educatio n commissione r befor e movin g ove r t o th e governor's offic e a s Governor Richar d J. Hughes was responding to th e 1967 riots in Newark an d Plainfield . Fo r eight years I ran a foundatio n that searched for effective answer s to city problems. I visited scores of programs an d peopl e wit h idea s i n th e poores t neighborhood s o f som e o f America's poorest cities. I have consulted with community organization s and foundations , serve d o n board s an d tas k force s an d attende d mor e meetings about city poverty than I thought possible . Through thes e efforts, I have met hundreds of bright, serious, energetic , motivated, tough-minded, effective huma n beings who were focuse d on wha t t o d o abou t poo r peopl e i n poo r places . Som e endeavor s "worked"—some poor people moved out of poverty and their lives were filled wit h more and bette r choices. Many o f these efforts di d not work . But ther e wa s nothin g tha t worke d s o wel l an d s o consistentl y tha t i t could be packaged a s the answer. Actually, one idea comes close to qualifying a s a solution: jobs for all who see k one . Th e bes t wa y t o liberat e th e lowe r clas s i s a macroeco nomic policy that sustains enough growth that labor shortages reach poor cities. Then, employers would have to reach down into the labor pool t o train th e poor . Harvar d economis t Richar d Freema n foun d tha t th e employment and earnings of young black males benefited disproportion ately from th e tight labor markets of the mid-1980s.1 Economic growth a s the national urban policy benefits everyone . It avoids th e divisivenes s o f racia l preferences , th e inefficiencie s o f socia l service bureaucracies , an d th e hysteri a o f ta x increases . It s sol e disad vantage is that no one knows how to pull it off . Lyndon Johnson was the last president to...

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