Menasha Public Library (Elisha D. Smith)

The price of paradise, the costs of inequality and a vision for a more equitable America, David Dante Troutt

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 253-258) and index

index present

non fiction

The price of paradise

bibliography

854541668

David Dante Troutt

the costs of inequality and a vision for a more equitable America

"Many American communities, especially the working and middle class, are facing chronic problems: fiscal stress, urban decline, environmental sprawl, failing schools, mass incarceration, political isolation, disproportionate foreclosures, and severe public health risks. In The Price of Paradise, David Dante Troutt argues that it is a lack of what he calls 'regional equity' in our local decision making that has led to this looming crisis now facing so many cities and local governments. Unless we adopt policies that take into consideration all class levels, he argues, the underlying inequity affecting poor and middle class communities will permanently limit opportunity for the next generations of Americans. Arguing that there are 'structural flaws' in the American dream, Troutt explores the role that place plays in our thinking and how we have organized our communities to create or deny opportunity. Through a careful presentation of this crisis at the national level and also through on-the-ground observation in communities like Newark, Detroit, Houston, Oakland, and New York City that all face similar hardships, he makes the case that America's tendency to separate into enclaves in urban areas or to sprawl off on one's own in suburbs gravely undermines the American dream. Troutt shows that the tendency to separate also has maintained racial segregation in our cities and towns, itself cementing many barriers for advancement. A profound conversation about America at the crossroads, The Price of Paradise is a multilayered exploration of the legal, economic, and cultural forces that contribute to the squeeze on the middle class, the hidden dangers of growing income and wealth inequality, and environmentally unsustainable growth and consumption patterns"--Provided by publisher

Mutuality : the thief, the preacher, and the late-night lawyer -- All this I made myself : assuming that middle-class lives are self-sufficient -- Keep your distance : assuming that middle-class status requires distance from the poor -- The promise half empty : assuming that segregation is a thing of the past -- We renamed the problem and it disappeared : assuming that racism no longer limits minority chances -- Islands without paradise : assuming that poverty results from weak values and poor decisions -- Raceless wonders : assuming that racial labels no longer matter -- The cost of inequality and a vision for a more equitable America