Editing Underclass (section)

==Potential causes and proposed solutions==
Similar to issues of defining and identifying the underclass, the outlining of potential causes and proposed solutions for the "underclass problem" have also been points of contestation. Debates concerning the diagnosis of, and prescription for, the underclass often mirror debates concerning first world poverty more generally. However, in many writings on the specific notion of the underclass, some particular causes and solutions have been set forth.

A few of these propositions are outlined below, including those developed by [[William Julius Wilson]], [[Douglas Massey]] and Nancy Denton, [[Lawrence M. Mead]], and [[Ken Auletta]]. The work by these authors' certainly do not compile an exhaustive list of suggested causes or solutions for the underclass, but they are arguably the most read proposals among social scientists. The contrasting causes and solutions highlighted by Wilson and Mead in particular have been popular points for debate. However, because prescription is dependent on diagnosis, much of the debates between Wilson and Mead have been on the causes and conditions of the underclass. Wilson highlights social isolation and the disappearance of quality work (for example, via [[deindustrialization]] and offshore labor [[outsourcing]]) for ghetto residents, while Mead highlights an overgenerous and permissive [[welfare state]].<ref name="TDA"/><ref name="Mead"/> Massey and Denton link the creation of the underclass to [[Racial segregation in the United States|racial residential segregation]] and advocate for policies encouraging [[Desegregation in the United States|desegregation]].<ref name="MD"/> Auletta provides a different policy framework discussion by highlighting two extreme positions (the wholesale option and the [[laissez-faire]] option) and one middle-of-the-road position (the retail option), but these are more discussions concerning the amount of public resources that should be dedicated to fixing, or attempting to fix, the underclass problem, rather than specific strategies.<ref name="Underclass"/> Auletta seems to support the retail option, which would provide aid to underclass members deserving and hopeful and withhold aid to members undeserving and hopeless.

===Wilson's diagnosis and prescription===
For Wilson, the cause of the underclass is structural. In ''The Truly Disadvantaged'', Wilson highlights a conglomerate of factors in the last half of the twentieth century leading to a growing urban underclass.<ref name="TDA" /> The factors listed include but are not limited to the shift from a goods-producing economy to a service-producing economy (including [[deindustrialization]]) and the [[offshore outsourcing]] of labor not only in the industrial sector but also in substantial portions of the remaining service sector.  These factors are aggravated by the exodus of the middle and upper classes from the inner city (first the well-known "[[white flight]]" and later the less-studied departure of the black middle class), which creates a "[[spatial mismatch]]" between where low-income people live (inner-city neighborhoods) and where low-skill service-sector jobs are available (the suburbs).  The result is the transformation of the post-civil-rights-era inner city into a "ghetto" whose residents are isolated from mainstream institutions.

Wilson proposes a comprehensive social and economic program that is primarily universal, but nevertheless includes targeted efforts to improve the [[life chances]] of the ghetto underclass and other disadvantaged groups.<ref name="TDA" /> Wilson lists multiple examples of what this universal program would include, such as public funding of training, retraining, and transitional employment benefits that would be available to all members of society. With respect to the diagnosis of concentration and isolation, Wilson suggests the promotion of [[social mobility]], through programs that will increase employment prospects for the underclass, will lead to [[geographic mobility]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Wilson|first=William Julius|title=The Truly Disadvantaged: The Inner City, the Underclass, and Public Policy|year=1987|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago, IL|isbn=0-226-90131-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/trulydisadvantag00wilsrich/page/n173 158]|url=https://archive.org/details/trulydisadvantag00wilsrich|url-access=limited}}</ref> Wilson describes his proposed program as having a "hidden agenda" for policy makers "to improve the life chances of truly disadvantaged groups such as the ghetto underclass by emphasizing programs to which the more advantaged groups of all races and class backgrounds can positively relate".<ref>{{cite book|last=Wilson|first=William Julius|title=The Truly Disadvantaged: The Inner City, the Underclass, and Public Policy|year=1987|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago, IL|isbn=0-226-90131-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/trulydisadvantag00wilsrich/page/n170 155]|url=https://archive.org/details/trulydisadvantag00wilsrich|url-access=limited}}</ref> Universal programs are more easily accepted within the US' political climate than targeted programs, yet the underclass would likely experience the most benefit from universal programs. Wilson notes that some [[means-tested]] programs are still necessary, but recommends that they be framed as secondary to universal programming efforts. The following quote summarizes his policy call:

{{quote|[T]he problems of the ghetto underclass can be most meaningfully addressed by a comprehensive program that combines employment policies with social welfare policies and that features universal as opposed to race- or group-specific strategies. On the one hand, this program highlights [[macroeconomic]] policy to generate a tight labor market and economic growth; fiscal and monetary policy not only to stimulate noninflationary growth, but also to increase the competitiveness of American goods on both the domestic and international market; and a national labor market strategy to make the labor force more adequate to changing economic opportunities. On the other hand, this program highlights a [[child support]] assurance program, a [[family allowance]] program, and a [[child care]] strategy.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wilson|first=William Julius|title=The Truly Disadvantaged: The Inner City, the Underclass, and Public Policy|year=1987|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago, IL|isbn=0-226-90131-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/trulydisadvantag00wilsrich/page/n178 163]|url=https://archive.org/details/trulydisadvantag00wilsrich|url-access=limited}}</ref>}}

===Massey and Denton's diagnosis and prescription===
In their 1993 book, ''American Apartheid'', sociologists [[Douglas Massey]] and Nancy Denton concur with much of Wilson's suggested causes and proposed solutions, but introduce [[Racial segregation in the United States|racial residential segregation]] (as an outcome of both institutionalized and individual-level [[discrimination]]) as an explanatory factor.<ref name="MD">{{cite book|last=Massey|first=Douglas|title=American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass|year=1993|publisher=Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|isbn=0-674-01821-4|author2=Nancy Denton }}</ref> Massey and Denton argue that racial residential segregation is primarily an outcome of [[institutionalized racism]] in real estate and banking, coupled with, and significantly motivated by, individual-level [[prejudice]] and discrimination.<ref>{{cite book|last=Massey|first=Douglas|title=American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass|url=https://archive.org/details/americanaparthei00mass_802|url-access=limited|year=1993|publisher=Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|isbn=0-674-01821-4|author2=Nancy Denton |pages=[https://archive.org/details/americanaparthei00mass_802/page/n194 186]}}</ref> They provide the following summary,

{{quote|Thus, although we share William Julius Wilson's view that the structural transformation of the economy played a crucial role in creating the urban underclass during the 1970's, we argue that what made it disproportionately a black underclass was racial segregation. The decline of manufacturing and the rise of a two-tiered [[service economy]] harmed many racial and ethnic groups, but only black Americans were highly segregated, so only among them was the resulting income loss confined to a small set of spatially contiguous and racially homogenous neighborhoods.<ref>{{cite book|last=Massey|first=Douglas|title=American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass|url=https://archive.org/details/americanaparthei00mass_802|url-access=limited|year=1993|publisher=Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|isbn=0-674-01821-4|author2=Nancy Denton |pages=[https://archive.org/details/americanaparthei00mass_802/page/n145 137]}}</ref>}}
 
Given the prominent role of segregation in the construction and maintenance of the urban underclass, Massey and Denton call for policies that promote [[Desegregation in the United States|desegregation]]. They provide a detailed list of policy suggestions in the closing of their book. They argue that policies aimed at desegregation need to target the private housing market, where an overwhelming majority of housing is allocated.<ref>{{cite book|last=Massey|first=Douglas|title=American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass|url=https://archive.org/details/americanaparthei00mass_802|url-access=limited|year=1993|publisher=Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|isbn=0-674-01821-4|author2=Nancy Denton |pages=[https://archive.org/details/americanaparthei00mass_802/page/n237 229]}}</ref> In doing this, the authors call upon the federal government to dedicate more resources to the upholding of the [[Fair Housing Act]], including speedy judicial action against violators (to strengthen deterrent effects of the legislation).<ref>{{cite book|last=Massey|first=Douglas|title=American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass|url=https://archive.org/details/americanaparthei00mass_802|url-access=limited|year=1993|publisher=Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|isbn=0-674-01821-4|author2=Nancy Denton |pages=[https://archive.org/details/americanaparthei00mass_802/page/n237 229]–231}}</ref>

===Mead's diagnosis and prescription===
Mead argues that the core cause of the underclass problem (or at least the perpetuation of the underclass problem) is [[welfare spending|welfare]].<ref name="Mead">{{cite book|last=Mead|first=Lawrence M.|title=Beyond Entitlement: The Social Obligations of Citizenship|year=1986|publisher=The Free Press|location=New York, NY|isbn=0-7432-2495-7}}</ref> Mead argues that most welfare programs encourage social dysfunctions, including [[welfare dependency]], illegitimate births, [[joblessness]], and [[crime]]. For Mead, welfare is too permissive and provides benefits to the underclass without requirements for its members to change their behavior and lifestyle.

Mead's diagnosis that permissive welfare is a primary cause of the underclass problem is followed by a prescription for a more authoritative welfare program that combines benefits with requirements.<ref name="Mead" /> This proposal is often called "[[workfare]]", which requires welfare recipients to work in order to receive aid. For Mead, such a program design would evoke behavioral change since permissiveness is replaced with authority.  Mead summarizes his call to replace permissive welfare with authoritative welfare:

{{quote|The progressive tradition of extending new benefits and opportunities to the worst-off has made it next to impossible to address the behavioral difficulties at the bottom of society in their own terms. For to do that, authority, or the making of demands on people, would have to be seen as the tool, and not the butt, of policy.<ref>{{cite book|last=Mead|first=Lawrence M.|title=Beyond Entitlement: The Social Obligations of Citizenship|year=1986|publisher=The Free Press|location=New York, NY|isbn=0-7432-2495-7|pages=45}}</ref>}}

===Auletta's three typologies of solutions===
[[Ken Auletta]] closes his book, ''The Underclass'' (1982), by highlighting three typologies of solutions: "the wholesale option", "the laissez-faire option", and "the retail option".<ref name="Auletta">{{cite book|last=Auletta|first=Ken|title=The Underclass|url=https://archive.org/details/underclass00aule|url-access=registration|year=1982|publisher=Random House|location=New York, NY|isbn=0-87951-929-0}}</ref>

The "wholesale option" includes both conservatives and liberals who are optimistic that government action can solve the underclass problem. According to Auletta, left-wing wholesale proponents call for increased public aid while right-wing wholesale proponents call for government to reduce taxes to increase jobs (inspired by [[Trickle-down economics|trickle-down economic theory]]) and charge the government to "get tough" on underclass crime and welfare dependency.<ref>{{cite book|last=Auletta|first=Ken|title=The Underclass|url=https://archive.org/details/underclass00aule|url-access=registration|year=1982|publisher=Random House|location=New York, NY|isbn=0-87951-929-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/underclass00aule/page/269 269]}}</ref>

The "[[laissez-faire]] option" is pessimistic and its proponents are extremely wary of proposed solutions to a problem they see as unsolvable. Proponents of this perspective call for a drastic withdrawal of public aid for the underclass and are concerned with "quarantining the patient" instead of hunting for what they believe is an imaginary cure.<ref>{{cite book|last=Auletta|first=Ken|title=The Underclass|url=https://archive.org/details/underclass00aule|url-access=registration|year=1982|publisher=Random House|location=New York, NY|isbn=0-87951-929-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/underclass00aule/page/291 291]}}</ref> In other words, the laissez-faire option assumes that the underclass is generally hopeless, and thus the only public effort given to them should be the bare minimum.

The "retail option" includes those in between optimism and pessimism, what Auletta calls "skeptics". The retail option advocates for targeted efforts, recognizing the limits of government intervention, but is also aware of the positive impact social policy can have on efforts to fix specific problems of the underclass. This middle ground perspective requests that aid be given to members of the underclass considered to be deserving of aid, but withheld from members considered to be undeserving. However, proponents of the retail option often disagree on which members of the underclass are considered deserving and which are not. This appears to be the approach embraced by Auletta as he closes his book with reflections on some of the people he interviews throughout preceding pages. He says, "I have no difficulty giving up on violent criminals like the Bolden brothers or street hustlers like Henry Rivera. But knowing how a government helping hand made it possible for Pearl Dawson and William Mason to succeed, would you be willing to write them off?"<ref>{{cite book|last=Auletta|first=Ken|title=The Underclass|url=https://archive.org/details/underclass00aule|url-access=registration|year=1982|publisher=Random House|location=New York, NY|isbn=0-87951-929-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/underclass00aule/page/319 319]}}</ref>