Hogwarts Can Save Baltimore: Part II

On May 7, I pointed out some economic facts about Baltimore’s poor and then married those facts to the anthropological precepts of Ruth Benedict, one of our nation’s premier cultural anthropologists.              

In Baltimore, a welfare mother of two children can receive up to $35,000 in aid, which puts her $15,000 above the poverty line.  That is more money than a first year teacher in 27 of our 50 states!  The schools in Baltimore rank fourth in per student expenditures.  They spend $16,578/student which is 52% higher than the national average.  Their taxes for both business and personal property are some of the highest in the nation, their taxes on small businesses (traditionally our largest employers) are the 7^th highest in the nation. 

            Still, the worst parts of Baltimore have 50% unemployment, 60% of all families are headed by a single parent, and 50% of all students fail the states High School Assessment.  Additionally, while many try to couch Baltimore’s problems in racial terms, the city is headed by a black mayor, fifteen of its city managers are black, 50% of the police force is black and all city services are headed by blacks.

            The problems of our inner cities are not problems of race; they are problems of culture!  That is where Ruth Benedict comes in.

            Benedict showed that societies (consciously or unconsciously) select the individual behaviors they find most effective, and promote, endorse and support the people who display those behaviors.  They create a society that reflects their own values.  Benedict uses the term, “personality writ large.” 

            The ugly truth is, Baltimore has gotten the city they want. 

           We can’t change their choices.  But they can!  We just have to give them a reason to.  Start by doing some sociological triage.  There are pockets of Baltimore that are going to live and some that are going to die, no matter what we do.  We need to start with the neighborhoods that could go either way. 

            Pick out four, four-block sections of Baltimore that are not coterminous, but are in the areas that have 20-30% of their people living below the poverty line (that data is already available and mapped out).  Do not share the location of the other localities to prevent sabotage.

Treat these four small localities as if they were the four houses at Hogwarts.  They are in competition with each other.  They will be judged on a few basic, but life improving, activities.  If their children improve their school attendance, if there are fewer incidents of crime, fewer cases of arson, some clean-up of the streets, removal of graffiti, more people getting a job (part-time, minimum wage, anything), that four-block location gets points.  Every four months the area with the most points gets a 3% increase in all benefits.  Where does the increase come from?  From the other three locations who find their benefits decreased by 1% each.  

            By the end of a year, a consistently better location would have increased its benefits by 9% but no other area, would lose more than 3%.  The tax payers would not be facing a greater burden.  All gain and loss is internal.  What is more, good things would be happening in some, if not all of the areas.  Once an area is well established in the system it will be expanded out by one block in every direction.  Lather, rinse, repeat. 

Slowly, Baltimore will start to change the characteristics it wants to support.  Competition will work its magic and no more taxpayer money will be swirled down the drain. 

Reward only good behavior and keep the faith.