Since Then Project: Economic Tensions

Project by Taylor McHugh, Rebecca Rahaim,

Lisa Russo, and Danielle Sparmer
December 19, 2018
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Economic tensions play a major role in ​The Wire​ because economics and socioeconomic

status are the driving force behind the main issue of the series: the struggle between the police

and the drug dealers. Most of what happens on the streets—from the drug deals to the murders to

the side plots of the families—exist because of the low-income situation that most of the

characters live in. Economic situations and the tension that arises from them are present

throughout the series. Here, we investigate what has happened in Baltimore’s economic

landscape since ​The Wire​ wrapped and how the city of Baltimore deals with economic tensions

today.

Household Income and the Distribution of Poverty

The Wire ​shows a realistic portrayal of Baltimore, and glaring aspect is all the empty and

abandoned housing in Baltimore. According to the ​Baltimore Sun​, the buildings where General

Motors vans, Procter and Gamble soap, and McCormick spices were all once a booming industry

in Baltimore were vacant during the filming of ​The Wire. ​However, since then, they have started

to come back to life. Amazon, Under Armor, and a Skyscraper apartment complex have taken

the empty facilities’ places (​Broadwater, 2017​). Though violent crime and vacant housing can

still be easily spotted in Baltimore, these new buildings highlight a spot of hope in the city:

Baltimore's economy is experiencing a surge.

Since 2014 property wealth has grown by 5.2 percent, which is double the state level of

2.6 percent. Income in baltimore has also grown by 4.3 percent which is about a third more than

the state level at 3.1 percent. From 2014 to 2017, Baltimore’s economy has added over 12,000

jobs, which is the sixth year of consistent growth over decades of decline (​Broadwater, 2017​)

present in ​The Wire​.

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Even though there is evidence of income growth in Baltimore, even more so than the

state average, there is still a large gap in income between people of color and caucasians in

Baltimore. On average, the income for African Americans in Baltimore is almost half of that of

the whites in Baltimore: $33,801 compared to the average income of a white person in Baltimore

of $62,751. This is not the only gap: the unemployment rate for African Americans is almost

three times that of white citizens in Baltimore. The city unemployment rate dropped from 8

percent to 6 percent from 2014 to 2017, but the poorest of the city’s people have not felt the

growing economic impact. Local leaders are being encouraged to hire citizens from the poorest

of areas, like West Baltimore, where one in three families still live below the poverty line

(​Broadwater, 2017​).

There are a few explanations as to why all of Baltimore has not felt the effect of its

growing economy. ​Asante-Muhammad, director of the corporation Racial Wealth Divide Project,

says that economic growth “will only be a good thing for a few if it's just creating nice places for

more high-income people to live” ​(​Broadwater, 2017​). ​The economic growth of Baltimore could

be very positive if leaders ensure that investments make an impact across all of Baltimore’s

citizens. Second, Baltimore has higher property tax than other areas in Maryland. However,

seven of the ten most valuable construction companies only pay about half of their tax bills

because Baltimore must allow tax breaks if they want to entice new businesses to invest and

grow in Baltimore ​(​Broadwater, 2017​)​.

The death of Freddie Gray in April of 2015 brought a lot of international attention to

Baltimore’s poor situation. After his death, there was a spike in violence, rioting, larson, and

looting occurred on the day he was buried. This was a major economic set back for Baltimore.
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“Overtime for police and firefighters, reimbursements for help from other jurisdictions and

damage to city-owned property cost taxpayers $20 million. Damage to businesses cost another

$9 million, and hotel bookings fell by 9 percent,” (Broadwater, 2017). This did not only cost

taxpayers millions of dollars, but it also cost them future profits by lowering the appeal of

staying in/near Baltimore.

Despite the economic setback of riots, larson, and looting in 2015, the personal income

per capita grew by 4 percent, reaching just under $45,000. This was the second highest growth

rate in the county, minus Montgomery County which is the most well-off county in Maryland

(Sherman, 2016).The average personal income in the United States in 2015 was not too much

higher than Baltimore’s at $48,112. According to the US Census Bureau in 2017, the median

household income in Baltimore from 2013 to 2017 was only $46,641, where the United States

median was closer to $58,000. Even though Baltimore had significant growth, the growing

wealth did not reach all of its citizens equally and is still lagging behind in the United States

average.

Economics of ​The Wire

Basic economic principles teach us that supply and demand in the market of goods and

services determines all aspects of how prices are set and money is made. Stringer Bell is the one

who brings the entire topic of the economics of the streets of Baltimore to the forefront of series.

In Season 1, we learn that Stringer is taking Macroeconomics classes for the purpose of

improving his drug dealing business. He then attempts to apply his learnings to the Barksdales’

business. He attempts to explain supply and demand, competition, price elasticity, product

quality, and the importance of branding throughout the series. Here are two videos that show
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these explanations: ​Stringer Explains Competition​ and ​Stringer Explains the Importance of

Product Reputation​.

The Wire​ manages to touch on major issues of the economy in the context of the drug

game. In Season 2, the series addresses the issue of labor unions and the labor force. In Season 4,

the issue of education arises. Throughout the series, we see also three major markets that the

characters are involved in: the underground drug market, the shipping industry, and the real

estate market.

The Labor Force and The Wire

The labor force is defined as all the members of a particular organization or population

who are able to work as a portion of the total population. ​The Wire​ shows multiple different

portions of the labor force in Baltimore throughout its five seasons. The majority of these groups

comprise of what is known as unskilled workers. Unskilled workers are people who are not

technically trained or highly educated. They are usually found in positions that involve manual

labor or other physical work. These type of workers are regularly seen in ​The Wire.

Specifically in season 2, the show gives viewers an in depth look at the Baltimore

port/dock industry. Many of these workers don’t make much money and are living as part of the

lower class. There is also a scene in season 1 (this ​McNugget scene​) when D’Angelo talks about

his issue with the labor market and how it is fundamentally unfair. He goes into detail about how

people in power are always able to exploit those who don’t have as much power. One person he

specifically mentions is “the guy who invented the McNugget.”

The Underground Drug Market

The whole premise of ​The Wire​ is “the game,” also known as the drug market, or more
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specifically in terms of ​The Wire​, the market for heroin. In Season 1, we see D’Angelo and the

men who work for the Barksdales making deals in the courtyard. In Season 2, the drug market

continues in shipping barrels. In Season 4, we see how the next generation of market participants

are being groomed while they are in school. Although we may compartmentalize this

underground market as something that we just see on TV and in movies for the sake of a

storyline, the drug market in Baltimore still exists today.

By their addictive and illegal nature, drugs must exist in an underground market, and

there will never be a time when there is zero demand for it. That nature makes this a social issue

in the context of the sociological imagination. In an article published by the ​Baltimore Sun​ in

2015, the heroin market in Baltimore was estimated to have spent of about $165 million annually

and to have about 19,000 users of the drug (Marbella and Rentz, 2015). ABC News even goes so

far as to call Baltimore “the heroin capital of the United States” (Yang, 2018). About 10% of the

Baltimore’s population is addicted to heroin, making it the city with the highest per capita

addiction rate in the US. The heroin sold in Baltimore is also stronger and more potent than in

any other US city. Further, there are hundreds of overdose-related deaths in Baltimore every

year. However, the price has been falling recently due to increased availability and is now about

$100-120 per gram (Yang, 2018).

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This market does not exist in a vacuum but operates much like the legitimate economy in

our country where the ones who benefit the most from the deals are the men at the top of the

chain. The real-life “Avon Barksdale”s and “Stringer Bell”s are the kinds of people who get

millions of dollars as salary from the trade. Meanwhile, the real-life “Bodie”s of the trade earn

about minimum wage for being “corner boys.” However, these “corner boys” stay in the game

because, just like in ​The Wire,​ they are often uneducated and have gotten arrested at some point,

which makes them almost completely unable to participate in the legitimate American economy

(Marbella and Rentz, 2015).

The Shipping Industry

The focus of Season 2, the shipping industry was used as a vehicle to continue the

storyline of the drug market while also exploring another part of the Baltimore economy. Today,

the Port of Baltimore—including airliner, truck, and shipping freights—is one of the largest and

most active ports in the US. It is more central to many major cities in the US than most other

ports, and has Northern and Southern access points (​Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore

2018)​. In the first half of 2018, the Port of Baltimore hit a record of 21.6 million tons in trading

goods or $28 billion worth of trade. It is also the top port in the nation for auto/small truck

imports. However, the port could potentially take a hit if President Trump’s trade tariffs with

China drastically affect US imports. However, the Port of Baltimore will not likely take much of

a hit considering it only handles about 2% of the US steel imports, which is where the tariff will

hit hardest (Dresser 2018).

The Real Estate Market and Housing Tensions

One sector of the economy that makes its way into ​The Wire​’s storyline is the real estate
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market. Stringer Bell gets into the real estate market in Season 3. Outside of ​The Wire​, real estate

is an important economic indicator. In 2018, compared to 2017, there has been a slight decrease

in the number of residential housing units sold in Baltimore, but the average price of homes has

been steadily increasing (BBMR, 2018). Further, the median value of residential housing is

slightly below the national average, while the average rent in Baltimore is slightly above the

national average. The poverty rate in Baltimore is also almost double the US average (US Census

Bureau 2017).

This does not only mean that there are tensions between high-income and low-income

citizens of the city, but there are also tensions between renters and landlords, bringing up the idea

of personal troubles versus social issues again. In ​The Wire,​ we saw Dukie get evicted from his

home. Although a family may have a personal trouble in paying their rent because of

unemployment or low wages, the thousands of people who cannot afford to rent their homes is a

social issue. In 2016, there were more than 7500 evictions in Baltimore, which was

approximately 20 evictions per day. Tensions continue to court when the evicted tenants try to

fight this issue. They often cannot afford lawyers, but the landlords can, putting the evictees at a

disadvantage. Better affordable housing laws are currently being investigated and created to help

ease these tensions in Baltimore (Evictions perpetuate… 2017).

Economics Effects on Education in Baltimore

The Wire s​ pends a significant amount of time showing viewers the struggles of the

educational system in Baltimore. The school system is millions and millions of dollars deep in

debt. Mayor Carcetti struggles with deciding what he should do to help and if it is worth

spending the taxpayer dollars to improve the schools. Not only does the school system lack
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money, but the youth in Baltimore lack the will and desire to go to school and receive an

education. Not only are they not learning, but their behavior is not conducive to a successful

learning environment. This is apparent in the scenes inside of Tilghman middle, where Prez tries

his best to get through to the students and get them to learn, but the children just do not have any

respect for him or any interest in school. This is because most of them know that they are

systematically doomed to spend their lives in the cycle of poverty and the struggle for equality,

so they do not see a point in trying to learn. The economics of Baltimore are failing the school

system which is in turn failing the students and their futures. This again brings the topic of social

issues to light because one student failing is a personal trouble, but this widespread failure of all

students in low-income neighborhoods is a social issue.

The Pursuit of Power in Poverty

Not only is the economy affected by the pressures of poverty, but society as a whole is as

well. As said in The Sociological Imagination: “It’s not just seeing and finding issues, it’s

because you can make connections, you have the ability to see both sides.” When watching ​The

Wire​ and understanding how money changes hands in Baltimore, we must look at how the

economy shifts not only the situations of the people, but intrinsic things like their motives,

beliefs, and manifestations.​ ​The power of money on the individual is a social phenomenon

referenced many times in the Sociological Imagination. In order for people to like ​The Wire​ (and

why many did not), there must be an application of understanding and awareness of how

powerful the economy and attributed status is for all sectors of income.

In Season 1, Episode 1, D’Angelo being bumped to the pit after testifying symbolized

more than a shift of power and status. It represented how steady income is a key contributing
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factor to happiness, even when in poverty. There is presence of a constant desire for power and

stability. The driving force for each of these always results back to financial status and the ability

to avoid financial burdens. Money is what drives the drug game, which will continue to happen

regardless of the obstacles. It will continue to occur because to the people who play the game,

every day and every sale is a jab in the fight for survival.

There is another example in Season 2, Episode 1 of ​The Wire​. We see economic motives

expand from the streets into shifts of real-world labor. Dock workers become involved in

smuggling and we wondered who was on the inside and who had the information. We learn,

though, that whoever ​could ​be on the inside, ​was ​on the inside. This applies the idea that when

there is a crisis, it impacts whole groups of people; therefore, we should stop blaming the victim

and look at society as a whole.​ ​These workers do risk the demise of the city and the downfall of

Baltimore from neverending crime, but it is to ensure survivorship and the financial success of

one group: the Greeks.

This form of survivorships is common on the streets of Baltimore. In 2015, Baltimore

teens participated in a study that showed how living in poverty affects their mentality and

behaviors. Although only 15- to 19-years-old, they reported victimization, sexual violence,

substance abuse, depression, health problems concerning PTSD, and poor community

perceptions (Neppl, 2016). All of these reports contribute to the idea that the economy is the

deciding factor on not only the lives lived, but how they are viewed for worth.

Economics also diverge into a new idea in ​The Wire: ​with power comes authority. In

Season 1, Episode 2, McNulty approaches the pit silently, and the boys assume he will target and
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misuse power. In reality, the detectives are focused on societal pandemics of the drug trade.

There is territorial authority and desire for control of a situation.

Applying the Sociological Imagination, we see how economic status reflects during

interactions. It creates a drive for competition, of who will be the superior and who will be the

“lesser” of the two. In​ The Wire,​ and today in Baltimore, we see the divide. Will people be

subjected to less due to their income and their economic class? Economic pressures that those in

poverty face translate into both personal and societal issues. Societal issues we see are the need

for power and the need for money. Those who sell do not use their product; therefore, their drive

to hold product stems from something other than addiction. The need to hold possession of the

drugs is way to see a future profit and the way to figuratively hold onto whatever little power

they have.
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