Ocean State Libraries

At each stage of their lives-from infant cribs to teen dropouts to welfare dependents to basement shelters for the elderly-the people of the underclass are shunned by the rest of the population, even by the working poor. The cycle is vicious: Underclass children get little help in their own homes (when they have homes); they are shoved aside at school until they drop out like their parents did; they are unable to find decent work without an education;...