Two recent reports highlight one of the most underreported elements of growing income inequality in America – the effects on our children. As is too often the case, we appear too busy reporting the bickering between our political parties, the lifestyles of the rich and famous and the latest spectacle-oriented ephemera to notice the general decline in the quality of life for most Americans. When we do so, it is generally to highlight the ways in which the poor are to blame for their own economic problems and why we thus shouldn’t feel any empathy for them; or ourselves (if we fit that category). The group the most affected by declining or stagnant wages and increased joblessness without any real choice to change their circumstance is, of course, our children. New data shows just how dire the current situation is for those who will define our collective future; at least beyond the interests of the Plutocracy.
The first report, released November 17, showed that approximately 1 in 30 (or almost 2.5 million) children are homeless in America. The authors of the report, the National Center on Family Homelessness, blame the nation’s high poverty rates, lack of affordable housing and pervasive domestic violence as the key reasons for the surge. That poverty rate currently stands at 14.5 percent, or 45.3 million people, and the real unemployment rate hovers around 12.6 percent (after hitting a 68-year high in 2009). As to affordable housing, rates for rent and housing continue to rise since the 2008-09 bottom while income remains largely stagnant (the New York Times had an editorial a few weeks ago on the topic of declining home ownership). And regarding domestic violence, one in four women will experience some form in their lifetime (see here for more comprehensive statistics).
Many think of homelessness as largely the result of drug and alcohol abuse, mental illness or simple laziness. The reality is that, even as the first two factors do still play a role, the declining economic security of the public at large is leading many more families and children into homelessness. And while it is almost the American way to blame the poor for their plight, it is hard to blame children for ending up on the streets.
The second report, from the Smarter Balanced Assessment consortium currently designing assessment instruments for Common Core, found that approximately 50 percent of students in the United States will fail to demonstrate the necessary grade-level skills in English and Math. We often exaggerate the crisis in education, failing to recognize a number of factors that influence the studies that lead the media and politicians to decry our failures – including the fact that international studies are not really like-for-like comparisons, that children today learn more in school than their predecessors years earlier, that schools are substantially more diverse than they used to be and that poverty and inequality have a large exogenous influence on student achievement. However, given these realities, it is still the case that our schools are failing in even the meager task of teaching children basic skills, much less ensuring their social, political and economic development for a healthy adult life. This latest report should, of course, be taken with several grains of salt, as the ones creating the assessment are in a position to make the tests easier or harder and thus increase or decrease the number of students who pass the test. But the reality is clear – our schools are failing to properly educate our children.
And so the plight of America’s youth only worsens as we argue over whether we should actually do something about climate change, address racism in our justice system, pass even more tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy or undermine the electoral college to help the GOP snag the executive office as well. In education, the general debate centers around further expanding Charter Schools, even as their effectiveness is increasingly in doubt, implementing even more testing, Common Core and merit-based pay for teachers. Maybe it is time to take the issues surrounding our youth a little more seriously?