"The middle is what holds Los Angeles together.
Not too rich, not too poor. Right in the middle of the curve -- a place that doesn't inspire much passion.
But without the middle class, what is Los Angeles?
Imagine a metropolis where all the homes have either iron bars on the windows or walls and guards to keep away the riffraff. A city of castes. Gated communities and gangland, with nothing in between.
In other words, a Third World city.
With our economy in the dumps and public services and the education system in crisis, it's easier to imagine Los Angeles becoming such a place.
I started thinking about the middle class after three reports came across the transom about Latinos, that very loosely defined ethnic group whose members make up a plurality of both Los Angeles County and Greater Los Angeles.
Two of the reports contain troubling information."
Not too rich, not too poor. Right in the middle of the curve -- a place that doesn't inspire much passion.
But without the middle class, what is Los Angeles?
Imagine a metropolis where all the homes have either iron bars on the windows or walls and guards to keep away the riffraff. A city of castes. Gated communities and gangland, with nothing in between.
In other words, a Third World city.
With our economy in the dumps and public services and the education system in crisis, it's easier to imagine Los Angeles becoming such a place.
I started thinking about the middle class after three reports came across the transom about Latinos, that very loosely defined ethnic group whose members make up a plurality of both Los Angeles County and Greater Los Angeles.
Two of the reports contain troubling information."