While I would agree that the most important influence for a child growing up is that of a stable, nurturing family, I think it's also important to realize that one of the larger issues facing impoverished families is the constant struggle to just survive, whether they're receiving government assistance of not.
I do not propose a rental property "cap" by neighborhood to remove people (from my neighborhood) that I no longer wish to live next to. If it were that simple, my wife and I would sell and move elsewhere.
I do so because on a daily basis I have the opportunity to wathc the interaction of my neighbors. My oberservations are as follows:
When a child in my neighborhood finially "gets it" and realizes that they, through hard work, have a right to live a life other than what they see, they become outcasts. Not through the petty bullying that most of us remember growing-up, but through much more dangerous and malicious methods. In my neighborhood, if a young male attempts to make a different life for himself he will be continually threatened and eventually beat-up. His self-esteem will be eroded through constant derogatory remarks regarding his ethnic background (especially by those of his own race). Most end-up failing in their dreams because they're not strong enough to take it. Those that eventually succeed do so because their parents care enough to either move, or ship them off to lives with friends/relatives in a "nicer" neighborhood. Anyone that doubts these dynamics exist on a regular basis only need to come spend some time in the 'hood.
Many more of the kids would escape poverty (and break the cycle) on their own, if the neighborhoods they lived in were better influences on them.
Making housing "affordable" (whether it's rented or owned) won't change these dynamics. Only deconcentrating the number of rental properties by neighborhood will. It's been my experience that good neighborhoods only exist when the majority of its residents are unwilling to accept behaviour that is counter-productive to having a safe, healthy neighborhood. Currently, neighborhoods such as Jordan don't fit that criteria.
If something is stolen in my neighborhood, the cops aren't called, as many of the residents in my neighborhood see the cops as more of a problem than they do the person that stole from them. Homeowners and renters alike, for the most part, turn a "blind-eye" to activities such as drug dealing and gambling. The reasons typically center around the fear of reprisal or the desire to "fit-in". I find a certain irony in the fact that many of the dealers I call-on now recognize me and my vehicle and I consistently hear them telling me that I need to "get the F out of the hood". The irony? Many of them live in the northern suburbs, or South Minneapolis and only come to my neighborhood because their crimes are more readily accepted by the residents here. It's easier for them to do business.
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TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.)
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