Category Archives: Inequality

No country for young (and undereducated, unemployable) men

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Published in The News Tribune, March 28, 2012

Over the last six months Washington’s unemployment rate has fallen from 9.3 to 8.2 percent.  That’s terrific news. The same is occurring in states across the nation as employers are now hiring at a record pace.

Yet as some pessimistic sage surely said, every silver cloud has its dark lining.

The problem with our labor market is one I’ve been highlighting this month:   too many citizens have inadequate job-market skills with few options for upgrading them, and receive too little support for navigating what for them is an unstable job market.

Continue reading →

Poor public policies send desperate people to dubious colleges

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Published in The News Tribune, March 14, 2012

In my last column I argued that the life line we’re throwing to those at the bottom rungs of society is increasingly beyond their grasp. Truth is, we also don’t provide them with many chances to rise up.  With neither a hand out nor a hand up, too many citizens are consigned to pretty dim life prospects.

What’s more, other efforts taken to assist them have been akin to the actions taken by Captain Renault in the movie Casablanca.  The Captain famously responded to a shooting of a Nazi by a known assailant with the unforgettable instructions to “round up the usual suspects.”  Renault hoped that the appearance of vigilance would protect him from his evil superiors, and we all hope he was right. Continue reading →

Safety net continues to shrink for those who need it most

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Published in The News Tribune, March 2, 2012

The Obama Administration’s recently-proposed budget continues what has become a troubling trend in federal policy.  And it isn’t the growing debt I’m referring to.

What is is the large number of citizens who we seem to have given up on.  In fact, so forsaken are they, and dire the consequences to us of this abandonment, that I’ll use my next two columns to pick up where this one leaves off.

The trend is this:  We’re supplying our most vulnerable and low-skill citizens with fewer and fewer public dollars.  Instead, our nation’s “safety net” increasingly targets the rest of us, particularly those with jobs and a working- or middle-class income.  I’m all for helping the gainfully employed – especially those with low income — but when public dollars are scarce, the marginalized are the least capable of competing for them because few advocate on their behalf.  Not surprisingly, they’re losing out in the competition for public dollars.   Continue reading →

Let’s be thankful that our problems are those of rich countries

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Published in The News Tribune, November 24, 2011

These are divisive times.

It’s easy to see why.  Jobs are scarce, millions have lost their health care coverage, college debt exceeds credit card debt, income inequality is rising, more people are hungry, and state and federal governments look to be on unsustainable paths.   In the past, a robust economy and rising tax revenue succeeded in keeping some degree of division under wraps.

Today’s more austere times means that we now have to establish priorities rather than add new ones.  We’re faced with the inevitable – and unenviable — task of choosing between higher taxes or less spending. Continue reading →

Back to square one with end of federal long-term care policy

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Published in The News Tribune, October 25, 2011

With little fanfare, a Class Act died earlier this month.

Formally known as Community Living Assistance Services and Supports, Class Act was a short-lived health care program created as part of the recent health care overhaul.  The Obama Administration has just now cancelled it.

Class Act’s demise is noteworthy — certainly much more than would be indicated by its placement on the back pages of the newspapers.   Its end helps remind us of a present and growing problem we have yet to solve.   It also reminds us of the inadequacies in current health care policy. Continue reading →

Task for new UW President: Make college affordable

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Published in The News Tribune, July 8, 2011

The University of Washington has made an interesting choice for its new President.  Michael Young, who this week took over UW’s realm, does not seem to fit the liberal reputation of this institution.  But let’s hope he proves successful in addressing the conservative features of the University.  Such conservatism marks most of the nation’s public colleges and universities, and poses one of higher education’s largest challenges.

Some background is needed to understand this.  Let’s take what is fast becoming one of the most challenging issues in higher education:  providing an affordable education for the state’s students. Continue reading →

Unfair distribution of wealth has nation going to the dogs

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Published in The News Tribune, June 16, 2011

It’s not quite the dog days of summer, but dogs are making the news.

First came the story of the dog Trouble who just passed away.  Although she preferred to call her dog “Princess”, “Trouble” was the name the billionaire Leona Helmsley gave her beloved Maltese.  You may recall that Trouble gained fame four years ago after Helmsley’s death.  Leona, concerned that her dog might have to live out her life leading – well, a dog’s life — left Trouble a $12 million inheritance so that her dog could continue leading the life to which she had become accustomed.  Continue reading →

State must not give up its role in affordable education”

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Published in The News Tribune, May 26, 2011

For the next few years at least, the Legislature’s power to set tuition at the state’s higher education institutions has come to an end.  By ceding this authority, the Legislature recognized that it couldn’t drastically cut higher education’s support on the one hand, while also prohibiting institutions from turning to students for the difference.

Now that this is resolved, lawmakers should turn to policies re-establishing an affordable system of higher education in Washington State.  Continue reading →

Fiscal problems falling on the shoulders of children

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Published in The News Tribune, March 15, 2011

In theory, local, state and federal governments operate like layers on a cake, each making separate and distinct contributions to the overall cake.  The federal government defends us from foreign enemies, state governments build roads, and local governments quench fires.  In practice, governments are related in ways making the analogy of a marble cake more apt.  For instance each state administers a distinct unemployment insurance program, but federal law and tax dollars make this a state-federal partnership.

Despite complicated relationships among our governments, the fiscal problems that each government now faces is addressed without  considering the collective impact of all the budget cuts.   And so, almost no attention is being paid to how our collective responses to governments’ fiscal problems are disproportionately harming children. Continue reading →

Leaders must find creative answers to budget crisis

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Published in The News Tribune January 25, 2011

Budget woes are coming home to roost in Tacoma.  First came the announcement from Governor Gregoire that she wants to close the State History Museum in order to save $3 million.  Then, Tacoma Public Library announced it is closing two of its branch libraries.  The latest news comes from the Tacoma School District – Foss High School is being placed on the chopping block in order to save $2 million.

Given that all of these government entities are required by law to balance their budgets, cuts are inevitable.  But are these the right ones to make?  I won’t pretend to know the answer to that; but I think we can agree on two priorities. Continue reading →