Fully a third of its residents are on welfare. In 1987, the city counted 12,000 abandoned buildings and issued only two construction permits for single-family homes. Most milestones of a city's decay are more subtle. Oakland's symphony down public restrooms because so many people are mugged in them. All across America, bus drivers stop making change.
Ugly graffiti begin to appear.
Whites continue to flee to the suburbs, where civility still reigns, and businesses follow them. The city tax base shrinks. As more non-whites arrive, crime and welfare increase, and both are costly. Soon, cities are cutting every corner they can. Potholes aren't filled.