After the Shot Drops

The socioeconomic landscape of America has changed steadily in the past 50 years due to an economic program known as neoliberalism. Neoliberalism is a political project that prioritizes free-market capitalism and the private sector and seeks to decrease government intervention in economic and social life. Neoliberal policies include deregulation, privatization, and austerity, emphasizing the idea that people should provide for themselves rather than relying on a social safety net. These principles are closely associated with the Chicago School of Economics and became more influential in the 1970s, with controversial results; proponents of neoliberalism cite increased gross domestic products where policies are implemented, while opponents point out growing wealth gaps and increased suffering due to cuts in social programs. Contemporary neoliberal policies often coopt public sector power to benefit the private sector. For example, mass incarceration provides a supply of cheap or free manufacturing labor for private companies.

The effects of some of neoliberalism’s most influential policies are evident in the book’s setting. For example, the decision to outsource factory work to developing countries hollowed out many American cities by removing a stable employment option. Black and brown people in particular lost the ability to provide for their families with well-paying factory jobs and instead worked in low-wage service positions. At the same time, the necessity of a college education became paramount if one wanted to succeed economically. Various economic forces, however, raised the cost of college tuition exponentially. This explains why Bunny is so desperate to go to college but is also terrified by the loan burden he will accrue without a basketball scholarship.

One option available to families is military enrollment, which provides a stable career path as well as the opportunity to have the state pay for college education. However, this method of social advancement comes with risks since the US has been involved in multiple wars since the beginning of the 21st century. Deployment in war zones can be deadly, and many soldiers return home with physical disabilities or mental health conditions. This is the path chosen by Nasir’s father, who can support the family on one income and pay for his son’s education through the GI Bill.

Those who do not receive benefits, such as Bunny’s family, can find themselves in economically dire straits. His mother works late shifts at the hospital, although it is never clarified what her position there is. His father owns a bookstore, Word Up, which was once thriving but is now failing. Economic policies in the 1980s led to the development of mega-retailers like Walmart, the low prices of which eviscerated many small businesses. Likewise, the advent of Amazon, the online retailer, had a lethal effect on brick-and-mortar bookstores.

Another aspect affecting American urban life is gentrification, a process in which wealthy developers buy properties as investments in economically struggling neighborhoods. As these neighborhoods become more desirable, developers and landlords raise prices, frequently outstripping the original residents’ abilities to keep up with the increases. This is what happens to Wallace’s grandmother, who has lived in her building for over 20 years but becomes unable to afford the rent, leading to her and Wallace’s eviction. At the same time, most work positions available to non-college graduates are low-paying jobs in the service sector. When Nasir becomes discouraged by Wallace’s lack of initiative during the job-seeking process, Wallace informs him that a minimum-wage job at McDonald’s will not be enough to cover his bills. He turns instead to the riskier but potentially far more lucrative world of illegal gambling.

The lack of a social safety net in general is evident throughout the text. Wallace’s grandmother is elderly and disabled but does not receive enough financial aid to prevent her eviction. If she receives any compensation for being Wallace’s sole caregiver, it is not enough to provide him with his own room. Healthcare is also unavailable to Wallace, who declines to go to the hospital after being roughed up by an angry creditor because he has no health insurance.

Although Ribay never specifically mentions the policies that created conditions pervasive in cities like Whitman—or its real-life counterpart, Camden—he illustrates a portrait of present-day urban America: a place with few opportunities, rising costs of living, declining community spaces, a precarious economy, and an inadequate social safety net, especially for the most vulnerable.