Opinion | Where do socioeconomic classes mix? Not church, but Chili’s.
Rich and poor are more likely to mingle at Olive Garden than a library or independent business, new research shows.
Hasnain says:
“But it’s striking nonetheless that Chili’s, and not church or the local playground, is where Americans today are most likely to cross paths with someone of a different income class.
Viewed one way, this is a failure of civil society: Public institutions have been woefully unsuccessful, in some cases counterproductive, in knitting together different socioeconomic strata. Of course, the kinds of policy changes that might encourage more inter-class elbow-rubbing generally face fierce political opposition (busing, for instance, or relaxing zoning rules). Some might also compromise other valuable services public institutions provide. Having more local libraries is good for promoting access, even if closing and consolidating a few could theoretically promote more class mixing.”
Posted on 2023-09-02T17:07:41+0000