a couple of reasons, the first of which was summed up by Katie Miller. She states that Korean proprietors in South Central do not get to know the people who come into their stores. They do not respect the people coming into their store giving them their money. Instead the owners treat people like, "give me your money and get out of my face" (Miller). Another one of the other chief complaints by many blacks of Koreans in South Central is that "Korean-Americans do not patronize black businesses" (Choi). Economic differences among citizens of Los Angeles were perhaps the largest contributing factor to the riots. South Central LA as a higher overall poverty rate than does its surrounding communities. This was evidenced by the 1990 census which found that "30% of the people in South Central live below the poverty line" (Mydans). A commission similar to the one headed by John A. McCone was formed to study the causes of the '92 riots. It was called the Webster Commission. The Webster Commission named "the widening gap between Los Angeles' rich and poor, between minority and white residents" as a precursor to the violence. The "disproportionately high levels of unemployment, poverty and homelessness in African-American neighborhoods was by most accounts giving rise to a growing level of tension, frustration and anger that contributed to the tense atmosphere preceding the unrest," according to the report (Pope). In a pole taken by the Los Angeles Times in October after the riots, Anglos, African Americans, Latinos, and Asians listed economic troubles among the city's "gravest concerns." However, there were differences in responses of each ethnic group. For example, 24% of Anglos saw unemployment as a top issue compared to 42% of blacks, 36% of Latinos, and 26% of Asians. When asked to describe the state of personal finances, 57% of whites said that they were fairly secure compared to 44% for blacks, 46% for Latinos, and 47% for Asians....
