Couple things.
First of all, the government does not make money from incarcerating people. In California alone they are in a crisis financially because there are so many people locked up. They been thinking about sending them out of state. So the government making money off of putting people in jail is just false.
It's a tough situation. In many ways the people in the hood are incredibly disadvantaged. But like someone said, you gotta remain positive and hopeful. By giving in, saying "fuck this, I'm never gonna make it outta here, I might as well join in on the problem", is not gonna solve anything. Kids need hope. Kids need role models. The African American community has relied on eachother throughout all of American history. The deck was stacked against them from the start, but by sticking together, particularly by forming a strong sense of family and community, they broke free from the restraints holding them back. But in these run down neighborhoods, the very things that brought them together for progess, are now tearing them apart, resulting in the loss of a generation. Families are hard to come by in parts of Oakland, due to incarceration, abandonment or death. And with each new case of a broken family, it compounds the problem, like a snow ball falling down the hill picking up more snow and growing and growing.
It's a complex problem with no quick fix. It's going to take a concentrated effort of everyone involved to take a look around, check their conscious and realize that a change is needed. And its not just the people in the hood who need to recognize the problem. Them people living in their nice Oakland Hills mansions must not be able to hear the gunshots at that elevation. But that doesn't mean they are not socially obligated to stand up and help their neighbor. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
In many ways those involved in the grind are desensitized because they grew up with the slanging and killing. However, if a solution is going to be possible those who feel no remorse from the killing must grow a heart, those muted by the struggle need to find their voice and bring awareness to their block, and those blinded by the glint of their gold must open their eyes and see the injustices destroying their fellow man.
