Actually, I'd beg to differ. Most impartial studies have shown that the middle class has stagnated, at worst. The very rich (millionaires - very rich? not sure I believe that here in NYC as I'm a "millionaire" and am hardly very rich), have increased, however.
I think the issue of street people is one of visibility and lack of care. In the 80s there was a hue and cry about this very same issue, but it turns out to have been a chimera as most of the "street people" were the mentally unstable that refused to take part in, or were rejected by a reformation within the government supported mental health institutions.
I'd agree that it seems they are increasing, but I'm not sure it's really true. If you review the history of the enclosure movement, the truly disenfranchised increased at an alarming rate and were CLEARLY evident everywhere. It was truly unsafe to travel. I have yet to see anything near that occurring. In fact, crime fell dramatically in the 90's, and while it is rising now it isn't rising at a rate that indicates widespread poverty or need.
Where will the new jobs come? Probably the same place they always come from - the service sector. What we always fail to figure out is the ingenuity of the entrepreneur and his ability to identify the "needs" that none of us realize we have. 25 years ago I made my living mowing lawns for minimum wage. Today, EVERYONE needs a landscape service for some bizarre sum of money (except me, I still like mowing my lawn).
You just never know. |
