Introduction
Introduction
In the 1980s, the term “underclass” has been widely used to identify people in America's inner cities who are cut off from the rest of society and seem unable to escape their poverty. Described by their aberrant behavior as often as by their economic status, these are the poorest of the poor, the truly disadvantaged, the bottom of the heap. How big is the problem? Why did it come about? And can anything be done to help these people who seem so divorced from the rest of society?