Why Do drug dealers still live with their moms?
In this chapter of the novel, the authors explore why many drug dealers still live with their parents despite their dangerous occupations and the risks involved. The answer is simple, because drug dealing isn't a job that has a lot of monetary and personal benefits. University of Chicago student, Sudhir Venkatesh helped expose this reality by creating a survey he personally distributed to the poor communities surrounding Chicago. His interest was focused on what the people who lived in these neighborhoods thought of being "black and poor" ( Sudhir). The Black Disciple gang leader, J.T. explained the dynamics of the gang, from the bottom-up. Petty drug runners, the runts of the hierarchy, are at the greatest risk, and yet they get paid the lowest wages. On average, street-corner drug salesman made $3.30 an hour while working in areas with high potential for violence, extortion, and police. (Levitt and Dubner). These runners only worked these almost impossible jobs in hope of one day moving up the gang hierarchy. The boss and few higher-ups of the gang were the ones that made the big cheddar. The possibility that a runner would become a higher-up was slim to none, yet for people from these poor neighborhoods, slim was better than nothing.
This real-life example demonstrates the economic principle that "conventional wisdom is often wrong" (Levitt and Dubner). Just because citizens are involved in high crime jobs like selling drugs does not mean they make much money. People think that with such a huge supply of drugs on the street, that the business must be incredibly profitable but in reality only a few make amounts worth bragging about, while the rest of the lower drug "foot soldiers" are still so poor they have to live with their mothers.
This real-life example demonstrates the economic principle that "conventional wisdom is often wrong" (Levitt and Dubner). Just because citizens are involved in high crime jobs like selling drugs does not mean they make much money. People think that with such a huge supply of drugs on the street, that the business must be incredibly profitable but in reality only a few make amounts worth bragging about, while the rest of the lower drug "foot soldiers" are still so poor they have to live with their mothers.