Maybe they’ll win $100,000 in the Lotto and discover karma from Carson Daly.
Statistically speaking you’re a bit off base, well except about changing, everyone changes to a degree as time passes. But statistically speaking the less educated are more likely to end up incarcerated, those with significant criminal history are more likely to die at a younger age, those who abuse certain types of drugs are more likely to end up unhealthy and etc.
There’s always been a class of people who, in youth, were do-nothing failures. And ultimately it is a permanent underclass, I’m honestly surprised the OP didn’t recognize that as he typed it. “Will it create a permanent underclass?” It already is a permanent underclass.
There’s a difference between people who ultimately come from good roots (like a huge number of the hippies) and are just “drifting” or “unfocused” or “wild” as youths versus people that come from homes that breed lack of respect or understanding for advancing oneself, people that come from neighborhoods where you’re expected to live and die right in that same area and aren’t truly expected to do any better educationally or financially than your parents.
I’m not sure which the OP is talking about. The guys who are just playing the gangsta thing as part of their reckless or “misspent” youth have a decent chance of coming out okay, but there’s a lot of people who aren’t just spending their youth that way, they’re paving the way for the rest of their lives.
Well as an example the Crips were started in the late 1960s and the founders are all in their 50s now. Raymond Washington died, Tookie Williams ended up dead on death row. However Jimel Barnes (who is now 52) works as a personal trainer. I don’t know if you’ve read the book ‘monster’ by Sanyika Shakur but he was a gang member from 1975 to around 1985. He is over 40 now. I think he settled down with his wife and is still in & out of prison. His brother who was also a gang member and over 40 now settled down too and worked at a fast food restaurant.
There have always been thugs. Its more of a question of what happened to them to see what will happen to the current thugs.
The guy who wrote the book “Monster” is a good example of how most guys that are “real” thugs don’t really reform. He wrote a bestselling book, had a comfortable lifestyle and money to spare but he still is in and out of prison over smaller offenses.
Sorry, hit submit before I meant to do so.
What’s interesting about the author of Monster is that he even recognizes the destructive and unpleasant nature of his lifestyle. But it seems he continues to get in trouble with the police. Doesn’t it make sense that once someone acknowledges that flawed nature of their ways, they would change them? Yeah, it does. But once you’ve lived with a certain mindset and a certain way for such a long period of time, it’s very easy to fall into old habits.
Wow, that’s a real cold smile.
The rate of violent crime has been declining continuously since 1991. http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm By now, it has declined to mid-1970s levels.
I’m glad somebody got it. 
I was listening to that the other night.
Martin, the OP is painting with as broad a brush as possible. Of course there are some who will always be thugs; no one is denying that. But many, even most, even a vast majority, are simply going through a phase and will wind up being (to various degrees) productive members of society.
Well, that certainly explains a lot about you.
In my case it was the reverse. Had a decent job as Donald Trump’s assistant, working hard and getting ulcers. Then I realized the thugs were passing me by. They could be happy with just a couple of heists a day, spending the rest of their time with today’s floozie and a cheap buzz. I applied and was accepted and never looked back. If you can’t beat em, join em. 