Fifty years ago on January 8th, 1964
President Lyndon Johnson announced to the nation, in his first State of the
Union Address, that the government was going to wage war on poverty. Johnson
noted that "We shall not rest until that war is won… the richest nation on
Earth can afford to win it. We cannot afford to lose it." Fifty years later,
we are still fighting, and for many Americans it has been a war waged in vain. According
to the non-partisan Pew Research Center report “5
Facts About Economic Equality” U.S. income
inequality is the highest it’s been since 1928, the eve of the Great Depression.
In the post-World War Two years a strong middle class provided the political stability
and the purchasing power that enabled this country to become an economic
superpower. The polarization of America into the haves and the have-nots will
have serious economic consequences into the future, not only for the country
but for Nevada as well.
Minorities suffer disproportionately as the income
gap widens. For example, in 1964 there was a $19,000 difference between the two
groups, growing to over $27,000 in 2011 adjusted for inflation. The golden
ticket to the middle class, economic stability and a better life has
historically been a quality education, but for many students of color this is
not equitably obtainable. Low educational outcomes for students of color is not
only a quality of life issue, but is an economic issue, and in the eyes of many,
a civil rights issue.
In a 2010 study
conducted by Cross & Joftus we are failing Nevada’s children. Low-income students
account for 41% of kids in Nevada, who are disproportionately Latino and
African American. Nevada has the 3rd lowest graduation rate in the
nation at 62.7% to put it into real
numbers, more than 13,000 of Nevada’s students
from the Class of 2013 will fail to graduate.
Minority students drop out disproportionately high compared to whites. The
graduation rate for Hispanics is about 55%, while African Americans
complete high school at a rate of only 45%! To compare, Nevada graduates 76% of its Asian students and 69% of its white students.
It is well documented that a failure to earn a high
school diploma may result in a host of societal ills, consider the following:
CRIME: A one-year increase in average years of
schooling reduces murder and assault by almost 30 percent, motor vehicle theft
by 20 percent, arson by 13 percent, and burglary and larceny by about 6
percent.
PUBLIC ASSISTANCE: If one third of all Americans
without a high school education went on to get more than a high school
education, the savings would range from $3.8 billion to $6.7 billion for
welfare, $3.7 billion for Food Stamps and $0.4 billion for housing assistance.
TAXES: A high school dropout earns about $260,000
less over a lifetime than a high school graduate and pays about $60,000 less in
taxes.
HEALTH CARE: High school dropouts have higher rates
of cardiovascular illnesses, diabetes and other ailments, and require an
average of $35,000 in annual health-care costs, compared with $15,000 for
college graduates. [i][ii]
Our business community understands the importance of
having a skilled work force. According to a recent White House report the share
of jobs that require postsecondary education has doubled over the last 40 years,
as today’s jobs require more technical skills. Of 100 high school freshmen in
Nevada, only 10 will earn a college degree within 10 years, this is half the
national average! Education is the cornerstone of our economic future, as the
world continues to grow smaller and flater due to technological innovation. Colorado
high school teacher, Karl Fisch, points out “We are currently preparing
students for jobs that don’t yet exist using technologies that haven’t been
invented … in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.” (“Did You Know?/Shift
Happens”)
If Nevada is to achieve sustainable economic
prosperity, we must adequately educate all of our students. We cannot continue
to allow Nevada’s schools to be “drop-out factories” for students of color and
the disadvantaged. Educating all of Nevada’s students is an economic and moral
imperative. Fifty years ago President Johnson sought to correct another social
injustice with the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1864. As a nation, we must
reassert our conviction to our shared creed that this is
a land of equal opportunity for all Americans. Through education we have the
power to determine our future, a future that must include the many and not just the few.
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