Dismantling Detroit

By HEIDI EWING and RACHEL GRADY

Surprisingly, these guys, who all lacked high school diplomas, seemed to have a better understanding of their place in the global food chain than many educated American 20-somethings. The young men regularly checked the fluctuating price of metals before they determined their next scrap hunt, and they had a clear view of where these resources were going and why. They were the cleanup crew in a shaky empire. Somebody’s got to do it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/19/op...g-detroit.html