Well written, and well researched, in-depth reporting. The 70 year-long spiral of economic breakdown and the resulting social despair was something I saw first hand to the northeast while growing up in Milwaukee. Racism, perhaps, played a role but these cities were always ethnically heterogenous so that’s not as much a factor as some would suppose. The depressing state of affairs are mostly a phenomenon resulting from the political choices made when economic fundamentals underpinning the society change. When unions die, then so does equality. That has been the triumph of the radical right wing of the GOP, to get working class people to willingly vote AGAINST their own interests since 1980. The events and timeline supported by this article support my assertion better than any thesis could. Alas, I see so much of my hometown in this story. Once vibrant and multicultural with proud people and a good quality of life.