Any law enforcement action on this problem is a short term, tactical measure. The real issue here is that young people coming out the schools in most of Philadelphia's neighborhoods don't really have much a future due the dearth of meaningful jobs. I also wonder how attainable college is for many of them as well. I'm used to cities that have a variety of public schools in commuting distance, but the greater Philly area seems to be dominated by private schools with really high tuitions. One way or another, I think it's pretty clear to a lot young people that there's not much out there for them and that turns into a type of fatalism that I haven't seen anywhere else I'ved lived or traveled. This all feeds back into the drug trade and the violence it brings in the form of personal disputes over money.

Out of curiosity, when did all the manufacturing leave the city? I was riding out from dropping my car off at the body shop by Temple and noticed, as I pedaled through some really distressed neighborhoods, abandonded factory after factory and the buildings didn't look all old. Seems like where a lot jobs in this city once upon a time.

BTW, for those who don't know me, I'm a transient grad student married to an equally transient grad student and we're not from around here.