These readings definitely do not portray Rudy Giuliani and his administration in a positive light. The Quality of Life campaign, based on the “broken window theory,” operates on such flawed logic that it boggles the mind. It is only superficially positive: who wouldn’t want order, safety, and aesthetic? However, when scratches beneath the surface of this campaign, one sees it for what it is: a way to treat symptoms without addressing their causes. And this, most people would agree, is folly. Shooing homeless people, arresting pan-handlers, breaking up innocuous, if not angsty, groups of teenagers – these fail to address root problems both in New York and the broader context of the United States. We are living in an age of massive inequality that provides an acidic environment for societal illness to flourish. As a result, chronic poverty, unemployment, and even literal health problems continue to erode the wellbeing of America. It is terribly offensive for Kelling, as cited in Erzen’s piece, to suggest poverty is a matter of choice. Like hell it is! This policy is woefully misguided, having the effect of targeting both the homeless and people of color, without actually providing any visible evidence of actual improvement in “quality of life.”