Inequality

[yesthattom]

Democrats used to be the party of "big ideas" that could really change the world. Now they're afraid to make waves. Meanwhile it is the Republicans that come up with the major initiatives... sadly, initiatives to help the rich get richer. I found a great article at http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/9503 that has some really great "big ideas" in it:

Does it matter that America keeps getting economically more unequal? The process has been going on for more than two decades...
[..]
It's not as if there are no remedies. A few months ago, Ray Boshara of the New America Foundation and Washington University professor Michael Sherraden proposed the creation of a $6,000 investment fund for every child born in the United States; with the right portfolio it would yield 7 percent annually, eventually paying for higher education or a first home or a start-up business. Unlike the minimum-income schemes of the early '70s (it was Richard Nixon who proposed to give low-income people, working or not, cash payments of up to about $650 a month in today's dollars), the American Stakeholder Account would redistribute opportunity, not just money. It would give poorer families access to what they most acutely lack—lifelong assets.

The coming presidential campaign could at least provide this public service: to start talking about these issues!

Comments

[sweh.livejournal.com]

Education is one area I think America got lost in (and the UK seems desperate to follow, unfortunately).

Currently in England your first degree is paid for by the state. Sure, the student has to pay accomodation and books and living expensese, but the cost of the education itself is paid for by the state. (Second degrees, whatever, the student has to pay for themselves or get sponsorship etc).

This is state investment into it's own future; the future of society depends on a well educated next generation. Otherwise it will stagnate and become dependent on outside resources.

A $6,000 investment fund for each child but used only for a first degree (qualification based on merit - ie pass your exams!) would be an investment in the future of the country.

Gah, in the UK they are proposing "top up fees" where each student may have to pay up to 3000 pounds a year. Sheesh, I would have had second thoughts about going to university if that was going to hang over my head. I can't even begin to imagine how many Americans don't go to University because of the fear of debt at the end of it.

[mangosteen]

I can't even begin to imagine how many Americans don't go to University because of the fear of debt at the end of it.

A lot of them go to university anyway, due to student loans and other financial aid programs, which make life siginificantly easier. Of course, then you're in debt for the next 10-20 years, but at least you have a degree, which is worth less and less nowadays.


This is state investment into it's own future; the future of society depends on a well educated next generation. Otherwise it will stagnate and become dependent on outside resources.

My greater concern is the general trend towards outsourcing jobs that ordinarily require 4-year degrees. I have a feeling that less students in the US will go into engineering and science disciplines, as there are less and less jobs, along with the general feeling that any field you invest large amounts of time in (and go into significant debt for) you do will likely be outsourced to Someplace Cheaper.