ng kids ways to have fun and how to get "involved with good things, not bad" (Smolowe 1). Above all, the programs involve adults positively interacting with the children of these communities. By giving the kids unconditional love, interacting with them in a socially correct way, and being positive role models, community leaders can help break down the assumptions many of these kids may, or will have, about authority figures. As I discussed earlier, conceptions that a child develops about authority can play a big part in whether or not they develop a defiant character. Steps, although small, are being taken to decrease poverty as well. One reason for the scarcity of resources in impoverished areas is because the economies there have stagnated. No new money is put back into the communities because banks in these areas, if they exist, are making very few loans to them. Instead, they have been turning the deposits of the poor communities into loans for the suburbs. This is illegal under the Community Reinvestment Act, but according to Mike Shea, executive director of housing for ACORN (Association of Community Organization for Reform Now),it is happening across the country. One example of this is The Market National Bank, located on the south side of Chicago. According to an article by Theresa Puenta, a writer for the Chicago Tribune, The Market National Bank in the fiscal year 1996 collected a total of 560 million is deposits; part of this amount coming from the slums of Chicago's south side. The article also said that within the same year, over 700 loans were made to mostly white, up-scale suburbs while only 2 were made to the poor areas on the south side that consisted of blacks and Latinos. The number of loans the bank made to it's surrounding communities did not meet the percentage required by the Community Reinvestment Act. The percentage required was not met so recently ACORN has forced The Market National Bank, by threatening a law...
