> Camden, New Jersey, just across the river from Philadelphia, is
> stark, Third-World America. Ninety-five percent black and Hispanic, it
> shows no sign of recovering from years of decay. More than 3,000
> houses are vacant, and the number grows by ten percent every year.
> Seventy percent of high school students drop out and those who
> graduate know virtually nothing. The poverty rate is 44 percent and
> the median household income is $17,300. Ninety-four percent of
> elementary school students are poor enough to qualify for subsidized
> lunches. Downtown, there is no decent place to stay or eat, and no
> place to watch a movie. You can walk a mile along Broadway, once
> bustling with retail, and not find a place to sit down for coffee.
> Almost all the bank buildings are now churches or liquor stores. An
> estimated 10,000 people a day come into the city to buy drugs at some
> 150 street-corner bazaars. Camden would need all the tax revenue it
> collects in a year just to tear down its derelict buildings, and three
> years' revenue just to fix the sewers.
>
> There are flashes of local color. The mayor has been indicted -- like
> two of his four predecessors -- and is out on bail. He was caught
> telling drug dealers when police were likely to make a raid. The city
> prosecutor was fired for shredding hundreds of uncashed checks from
> defense lawyers. They were for copies of police reports defendants are
> entitled to but that could not be produced. When she cleared out her
> office, the prosecutor left behind three months' worth of unopened
> mail. The school super-intendent's job has been vacant for more than a
> year and if one is finally hired he will be the fifth in eight years.
>
> It takes about $330 million a year to run Camden but the city can
> raise only $30 million. The rest comes from the state, which has
> dumped $2 billion into the place in the last five years and
> essentially runs the city. Local officials cannot file a lawsuit, hire
> a clerk, or spend more than $4,500 without state permission. Governor
> Christie Whitman wants legislation that would give the state power to
> break certain contracts, evade some civil service rules, and reduce
> Camden's elected officials to mere advisors. This would mean a
> complete takeover of a city that cannot run itself.
>
> In the 1950s Camden was a booming industrial town. It was thriving as
> early as 1873 when Walt Whitman moved there to sing its praises in
> poetry. His words are still carved into the granite of city hall: "In
> a dream I saw a city invincible."
>
> We are witnessing the JUNGLEFICATION and NIGGERIZATION of American
> cities.