The Pew Charitable Trusts study on the impact of neighborhoods on economic mobility gives some credence to a point I’ve tried to make to local political and education leaders for some time now. Until we fix our neighborhoods, we will not close our achievement, income and health gaps in this country. Instead of blindly pouring more money into schools and prisons, we have to fix our neighborhoods. Children growing up in poor neighborhoods are difficult to educate, even with the best teachers. The stress of poverty on their families can be daunting. The debilitating effects apparently linger into adulthood.
September 2, 2009
June 17, 2008
America needs loans on Main Street, not Wall Street
One of the most effective means of dealing with the current downturn and frequent economic gaps would be for those billionaires investing in Wall Street to start making more investments on Main Street. Many could be pulled from the ranks of the unemployed, underemployed and working poor if they had access to small loans to make needed repairs on a home, finance an appliance purchase or more importantly, start a small business. Such a business could be as simple as a cleaning service, a nail salon or a convenience store. The same financing schemes which led to the mortgage debacle could be used to finance small scale entrepreneurship. Doing so will provide the hope required to overcome the inertia of despair, complacency’s calm, or alienation’s silent rage.
May 21, 2007
Question of the Day
Can we close the educational achievement gap between black and white students and between poor and middle class students? Or, perhaps the better question, can we do so without fixing the troubled communities most of our failing students call home?
