I quote from the Associated Press:
I suspect that the poor and near poor kids are not going to be ready for those jobs in the future, much less the jobs as inventors or entrepreneurs that the economy will need. Remember, the Wrights, Edisons and Fords who created the inventions that made America rich did not come from wealthy or even middle class families; the genetics that underlie those talents are rare, but can arise anywhere. But they will too often not develop nor be exercised in a country that fails to grant opportunity to all.
The poor in the United States include lots of Blacks, Hispanics, Indians, and indeed a white underclass. These groups are held down by prejudice. They live in crime ridden neighborhoods that challenge their kids in another way. We don't give them the schools that we need to give them. Their kids nutrition is too often based on fast food that is "soft, sweet and gooey".
We maintain that one of the reasons that Islamic countries don't progress as fast as they might is that they don't offer adequate economic opportunities to girls and women, and while we in the United States are doing much better in that way than we once were, women here still face a "glass ceiling". But we probably have a much bigger problem in that almost half the country is too poor and too discriminated against to give their kids the opportunities that those kids need and deserve.
I suspect that if the United States falls to be a second rate power in a generation or two, that will be the national problem and not just a family problem of poor and minority families.
About 97.3 million Americans fall into a low-income category, commonly defined as those earning between 100 and 199 percent of the poverty level, based on a new supplemental measure by the Census Bureau that is designed to provide a fuller picture of poverty. Together with the 49.1 million who fall below the poverty line and are counted as poor, they number 146.4 million, or 48 percent of the U.S. population.It seems pretty clear that the route to economic prosperity in the United States is full employment in remunerative occupations. Some Americans can work in non-tradable jobs such as cooks and waiters, gardeners, and beauticians but if the per capita GDP is to be high, lots of people are going to have to work in jobs that draw high pay. Generally people can draw high pay in their jobs because their jobs are supported by high levels of investment -- either in equipment or in skills. Indeed, jobs supported by costly equipment tend also to require high levels of "human capital investment", jobs that require a lot of smarts, education and training.
I suspect that the poor and near poor kids are not going to be ready for those jobs in the future, much less the jobs as inventors or entrepreneurs that the economy will need. Remember, the Wrights, Edisons and Fords who created the inventions that made America rich did not come from wealthy or even middle class families; the genetics that underlie those talents are rare, but can arise anywhere. But they will too often not develop nor be exercised in a country that fails to grant opportunity to all.
The poor in the United States include lots of Blacks, Hispanics, Indians, and indeed a white underclass. These groups are held down by prejudice. They live in crime ridden neighborhoods that challenge their kids in another way. We don't give them the schools that we need to give them. Their kids nutrition is too often based on fast food that is "soft, sweet and gooey".
We maintain that one of the reasons that Islamic countries don't progress as fast as they might is that they don't offer adequate economic opportunities to girls and women, and while we in the United States are doing much better in that way than we once were, women here still face a "glass ceiling". But we probably have a much bigger problem in that almost half the country is too poor and too discriminated against to give their kids the opportunities that those kids need and deserve.
I suspect that if the United States falls to be a second rate power in a generation or two, that will be the national problem and not just a family problem of poor and minority families.
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