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I understand that people want easy answers... but to put all the blame on lower class parents is reductionist and absurd.... These folks simply don't have the resources to devote to parenting as those in the upper middle class (which, ironically, is where most of the blame game originates, by the way). If American society is restructured in such a way as to provide working class people livable wages for a 40-hour week, things might begin to change.... [u]ntil we find the political will to significantly revisit our priorities in this country, we can expect rapidly increasing wealth disparity and social malaise. Ask yourself if this is the nation you wanted when you voted for your current representatives.
I agree with your diagnosis of the problem, but I think your solution (to "restructure" American society in a way that favors working class parents) is itself an "easy answer." There are at least three problems facing the American working class that probably cannot be cured or ameliorated by politicians:
1. Immigration. As the grandson of immigrants who never made it past 3d grade, I am all for giving people the chance to improve their lot in America. But allowing tens of millions of relatively uneducated immigrants from Latin America since 1970 has depressed wages for working-class white and black Americans during that time. If you really want to help the working class get better wages, vote for Trump and his wall.
2. Automation. My grandfather was able to support a family despite his limited education and limited English skills because when he came to the USA, there were lots of jobs for guys like that. Nowadays, there are far fewer - American factories make just as much stuff as they did 50 years ago, but with a fraction of the workforce. Unless we are going to outlaw technology and development, I think this trend will continue - and it will hurt the working class most.
3. Globalization. Decades ago, unions were able to force American companies to pay workers more because there wasn't much global competition. Now, to take just one example, US Steel has to compete with steel manufacturers in Eastern Europe, India, and China, all of whom can make steel more cheaply than US Steel can. In that environment, unions don't have the power they once did, and wages for working-class Americans suffer.
Sometimes there are problems that don't have solutions. I think the problem that we are discussing here is one of those. That said, I would note that there are working class people who manage to create intact families and do right by their kids despite these problems. Their existence suggests that the problems facing working class parents have more to do with lifestyle choices and less to do with economic insecurity.
2. Automation. My grandfather was able to support a family despite his limited education and limited English skills because when he came to the USA, there were lots of jobs for guys like that. Nowadays, there are far fewer - American factories make just as much stuff as they did 50 years ago, but with a fraction of the workforce. Unless we are going to outlaw technology and development, I think this trend will continue - and it will hurt the working class most.
My BIL, a college graduate, works in a non-Union steel mill. He does very well because he works overtime. He said his mill has difficulty finding candidates for openings because most applicants fail the drug test. So, there are still good jobs out there. Just not as many as in the past. It is also amazing how few employees actually work in the mill.
It's much easier to blame rather than to see the root cause of the problem, which is usually poverty because of no opportunity or discrimination, which leads to crime. They pack up and run to the next township, which begins a domino effect. Then they sit back and wonder why an area has declined. It's easier to just think of oneself only and become frightened and run rather than stay and help be part of the solution.
Change takes a long time and may never happend. While in the meantime our children are receiving a lousy education and getting bullied in school or accused of "acting white."
Sorry, but if you have the economic means to flee a bad school or declining neighborhood then you should do so for the sake of your family.
I would partially agree it’s not a funding issue, but once the cycle starts it’s very hard to break. It’s not like the lousy parents of today were not raised by lousy parents themselves. So here they are once again raising another generation of lousy kids.
I am not going to pretend that I even begin to have an answer, but to run away from the problem doesn’t solve it. Sooner or later it will be come knocking on your door. Penn Hills is a great example. People fled the city to the suburb of Penn Hills, and for decades it worked out just fine. Now look at it, those lousy parents they fled from now have lousy grandchildren that are living in Penn Hills. And this is more about just a suburb and a school falling apart, these kids are people, so there is a human toll in all of this. That is more important than school taxes and property values.
I would partially agree it’s not a funding issue, but once the cycle starts it’s very hard to break. It’s not like the lousy parents of today were not raised by lousy parents themselves. So here they are once again raising another generation of lousy kids.
I am not going to pretend that I even begin to have an answer, but to run away from the problem doesn’t solve it. Sooner or later it will be come knocking on your door. Penn Hills is a great example. People fled the city to the suburb of Penn Hills, and for decades it worked out just fine. Now look at it, those lousy parents they fled from now have lousy grandchildren that are living in Penn Hills. And this is more about just a suburb and a school falling apart, these kids are people, so there is a human toll in all of this. That is more important than school taxes and property values.
Sounds like the powers that be should be handling a situation before it gets to being $9m out of hand.
Apparently there are long-standing spending issues in Penn Hills School District:
Quote:
A Pennsylvania legislator has asked the Department of Education to place Penn Hills School District under state financial oversight.
Rep. Tony DeLuca, D-Penn Hills, wrote this week to Education Secretary Pedro Rivera asking for state officials to help manage the district's finances. ...
Solves that mystery. Sounds like the powers that be are once again responsible...and the taxpayers are expected to clean up their mess...and some will think that people should just deal with it.
Last edited by erieguy; 01-30-2016 at 10:57 AM..
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