Class Distinctions
 "Above the Street" - the nominal upper class in L.A.  Probably about 5-10% of the population, meaning about a quarter million to five hundred thousand people comprising the "upper class" that live above the median of middle class Americans.  The lower edge of "Above the Street" live lifestyles just a little better than middle class.  1950s "dream America" - a rancher in the country, two cars, etc.  The very upper edge have flying cars, live in Penthouses, have mansions on Mulholland Drive, and beach houses at Santa Monica.  By and large "Above the Street" is also "Corp Culture" at the highest level.
 
There is no specific "term" for the "average Los Angeleno."  Like in most Latin American countries, the "middle class" is probably only about 20% of the population.  The upper edge live in "Father knows Best" conditions, but most commute by bus, or have a secondhand car, live in apartments downtown, and work in office or management. 
 
"Below the Street" is a generic term for lower classes.  There are various 'folk etymologies' for this having to do with a particular street divide, but really it's just a parallel term to "Above the Street'  Probably about 75% of the population lives in abject poverty ranging from starving on the street to crowded turn of the century warrens in the barrios, where multiple families live on top of each other with a few bare bulbs.  Unemployment is rampant and Military Service is one of the few routes out.  The lucky ones hold small retail, labor, or factory jobs, most don't. 

Population Growth – the 500lb Gorilla

L.A. is bounded by a bleak reality. 
Population: 10.4 million
Arable Land (max) 6.1 million acres (much of it poor)
Yield .5 acres per person
Food with fisheries 12 million
Growth 1.5% a year or more

In a maximum of ten years the population hits 12.09 million and the supply of food is out.  Before there was a free gate into L.A. the possibility of importing enough food to make a difference was very thin. 

Worse in just fifty years the population will grow to 22 million and in a century to more than 40 million.  That’s four times the available food base.

The population of L.A. is heavily Hispanic Catholic, and while individuals will accept birth control, the overall population won’t.  Morever, the Corps push Catholicism as a hedge against the Movement, which helps politically but makes the Church more powerful.

Propaganda efforts have lowered the rate of population growth from a high of 2.02% in 1950 to 1.52% currently. 
 
Before L.A. had free gates there were plausible covert efforts underway, mostly probably covertly organized by Standard Oil, to genocide or sterilize the population.

Now with a route through the Pacific and a Gate into Penn State, the emphasis must be on agriculture.  Within fifty years L.A. must have trade or colonial connections that can provide double the amount of food it now consumes. The Colonization of the Oregon Thread has gained about a year…not a lot, but every little bit helps.