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The United States is the richest country in the world. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the US is nearly three times greater than the second richest countries, and the per capita income is one of the highest in the world. Yet, we still have innumerable neighborhoods in our inner cities that more closely resemble poverty stricken war zones than the living areas that they are. How can we ho live in the world's richest country permit our brothers to live in neighborhoods filled with such grime and crime.

But what can we do?

To solve a problem, you must first recognize what is the actual cause of the problem. The problems experienced in our inner city neighborhoods can rightfully be blamed on many different causes, such as poverty, drugs, gangs, and discrimination. And it is true, these are all factors that exacerbate the problems residents of these neighborhoods face on a daily basis. But why are these factors so prevalent in the inner city when they are only minor disturbances for the vast majority of our country?

What turns our inner city neighborhoods into danger zones? Why do gangs roam freely, sweeping up unsuspecting trespassers in their domain? Why, in the richest country on this planet, does poverty still rule in these neighborhoods?

Unfortunately, the only logical reason why these problems exist in abundance in these areas, is the ready availability and access to government programs that as a group, we call 'welfare'. These programs, originally implemented to help Americans passing through difficult times, have morphed into a system of generational dependency which few people, once caught in it's grasp, are able to escape.

The key to addressing the problems related to our inner cities, is to reestablish a sense of personal pride and responsibility in the residents of these neighborhoods. Additionally, residents of the inner city must be able to feel secure both in their homes and in the streets surrounding their home.

But how? How can we restore pride to a person who has been so diminished in the eyes of others. How can we restore pride to the single mother with a drug addiction? How can we give a sense of personal responsibility to a person who cannot read a job application? How can we keep our children out of the gangs that make the streets so dangerous?

To restore these basics of human dignity, we must have a realistic plan. Some basic tenets that must be assumed in this plan are:
1.The problems were created by decades of neglect, there is no overnight

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