Inequality in America has been growing for decades, and now rivals the gaps last experienced in the “Gilded Age” of the 1920s. There are many reasons for this—tax policy, trade impacts, shifts in industrial production, technological innovation—but the most likely cause is education levels. As society has shifted towards an information economy, those with higher education are not only getting the jobs but making a lot more money.
Wages for blue collar workers have largely stagnated for decades, while wages for white collar workers have increased (although they too have been hit recently). Most striking are differences in unemployment rates. High school dropouts have an unemployment rate of 14.1% and those with a high school degree 10.8%, but those with a bachelor’s degree or higher only 4.4%. Not only is the unemployment rate for the least educated more than three times the rate for the college-educated; the 4.4% rate for the most-educated is essentially full-employment. Despite anecdotal tales of highly educated workers unable to find jobs, and receiving low wages, the reality is that almost everyone with a college degree who wants to work is employed.
For the least educated the opposite is true. Millions with little or no education are now out of work, often for long periods—and with little or no savings, they’re least able to afford more education. As their few skills atrophy and their confidence decreases, many of them will find it ever-harder to get jobs.
There are policies that can help remedy this situation, and the Obama Administration has taken some important steps. By reducing subsidies for private banks in the student loan industry, the government is saving tens of billions of dollars, interest rates are lower, repayment plans are less onerous, and grants have increased as well. As part of the stimulus bill, the federal government is investing billions in broadband connections so that people in some of the most remote parts of the U.S. will have the same access to information and services (including online education) that the rest of us have. In addition, by providing a new safety net for the uninsured, the new healthcare bill will decrease medical expenses and help free up resources for more investment in education.
Nonetheless, the sad fact remains that the education system in much of the country is horrible and getting worse. Rightwing ideologues continue to fight against science and inject the culture wars into the curriculum (Texas being the most obvious example). The least educated tend to be the most easily swayed by the demagogues on the right (e.g., Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin), who manipulate them for their personal enrichment; it’s also the least educated who are quickest to blame all sorts of imaginary enemies for their ills, from immigrants to secularists to socialists. And with social mobility decreasing in America, the children of the poor and the uneducated too often stay that way, creating a permanent underclass.
There are no easy answers, but education is ultimately the key. Anything that can be done to increase college attendance should be a priority. Apart from that, we can all do our part by keeping reason and rationality front and center. We need it to combat the forces in the world who will always try to manipulate uneducated minds in order to gain wealth and power.
Jason Scorse