Outline

1
Outline

• Anonymous assignment collection
• Division Evaluations
• Closing Thoughts and Suggestions Wilson Rank
• Thursdays class is mandatory 4 point assignment
• EC opportunities
• Pictures of actual tutoring1/4 point if I use
  your pictureBy e-mail tomorrow
  speimer_at_widener.edu
• Two volunteers for service learning
  table4301/2 point per hourif more than two
  Ill do a lottery
• Last test will be on Tuesday April 27
• On all readings, review questions and notes since
  first test
• Week 6 through this week
• MC/TF to be done in class
• Hand that in and then essays
• OPEN BOOKYou may bring your books and readings
  to use (NOT YOUR REVIEW QUESTION ANSWERS)

2
A Broader Vision

• High levels of joblessness, growing wage
  inequality, and the related social problems
  discussed in this book are complex and have their
  source in fundamental economic, social and
  cultural changes. They therefore require bold,
  comprehensive, and thoughtful solutions, not
  simplistic and pious statements about the need
  for greater personal responsibility(Wilson 1996
  209)
• I hasten to point out that the following
  presentation and discussion of policy frameworks
  is not constrained by an awareness of the current
  political climate in the United States (Wilson
  1996 208)

3
Wilsons Long Term Solutions

• As weve already discussed, for Wilson the key to
  addressing urban poverty involves creating more
  good paying job opportunities
• If work disappearstry to create more work
• He believes attention must paid to relationship
  between employment and
• Family support and education
• The metropolitan context (connection between
  cities and the suburbs)

4
Education Reform

• National Standards to hold schools
  accountableand the support that would enable
  schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods to meet
  the standards
• First part donesecond part not
• Equalization of Funding to close the gap between
  urban and suburban schools
• for more qualified teachers teacher
  development curriculum development computers,
  etc
• Effective Public School Choice Program
• If Chester schools are failing, kids should be
  able to choose schools outside of district

5
Why does Wilson point to France as a model for
family policy (Child Poverty, March 2005)
6
Frances Family Values

• Among industrialized countries, the United
  States is alone in having no universal preschool,
  child support or parental leave programs(Wilson
  1996 215)
• Three Interrelated Programssupport for these
  programs is strong because many are universal
• 1)Child Care
• Ecoles maternelles govt. funded nursery school
  (Universal)
• Paid Leave for Parents of newborn
• 2) Income Support
• Grants to all families, not just poor families
  (Universal)
• Child support enforcement
• Welfare payments to single moms (Public
  Assistance)
• 3) Medical Care
• Coverage for all citizens (Universal)

7
Some of Wilsons Concluding Thoughts

• Wilson suggest that the US does not provide a
  rational school to work transition for youth.
  Please explain what he means by this, being sure
  to cite the text in your answer.

8
School to Work Transition

• For the nearly ½ who will not go to college,
  there is no real systematic process to assist
  high school graduates to move from school into
  employment(Wilson 1996 216)
• Kids tend to flounder around labor market for 5
  or 6 years
• Particularly problematic for urban poor in
  jobless ghettos
• Few training opportunities
• Little information on jobs that might be
  available

9
Germany as a Comparison

• Vocational Training
• At age 16 kids must choose
• College Bound, General Education or
  Vocational/Apprenticeship
• 70 of those who dont go to college opt for
  Vocational
• Joint Business/Labor Sets qualifications
• Vocational Tract taken very seriously
• Result is Very Highly skilled workforcewhen you
  think of German manufacturing, you think of
  quality
• Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz

10
Metro Futures

• Wilson suggests that a more metropolitan
  perspective would help alleviate urban problems.
  Please explain what he means by metropolitan
  perspective, being sure to provide a concrete
  example of what this perspective has done or
  might do.

11
Metro Futures?

• Wilson argue for a more metropolitan approach to
  governance
• Need for more city and suburban cooperation
• Allow cities to benefit more from the growth of
  the suburbs
• Metropolitan governments, transit systems, tax
  bases, school systems, housing policies

12
Wilson, Rank and the Paradox of Poverty

• I can imagine Rank listening to Wilsonand
  agreeing that better education (improving the
  __________ capital) and metropolitan cooperation
  might help reduce poverty among the urban
  poorbut suggesting it wont reduce poverty over
  all?
• Why would Rank suggest this?

13
Rankturning stools into chairs

• 5. Rank reflects on the challenge of creating
  adequately paying jobs. Please briefly describe
  what he wants to do with the minimum wage and the
  Earned Income Tax Credit.

14
Turning Stools into Chairs

• Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) a tax credit for
  people who work, but do not earn high incomes.
  http//www.irs-eitc.info/SPEC/
• Earning 7.50 an hour and under 10,000 a year,
  EITC raises wage by 3 an hour
• 2002 19 million benefitted5 million pulled out
  of poverty (Rank 2006 201)
• Who bears the cost of this anti-poverty program?

15
Turning Stools Into Chairs

• Raise it to a level that pulls someone out of
  poverty
• Index it to inflation
• Who bears the cost of this anti-poverty measure?

16
Rankturning stools into chairs

• 6. Both minimum wage and the Earned Income Tax
  Credit look to different parts of society to wage
  raises. Which method forces employers to bear the
  cost of reducing poverty? Which method asks tax
  payers to bear the cost of reducing poverty? If
  you had to pick one method, which would you pick,
  and why

17
Getting more chairs

• I didnt make you read it, but Rank also wants to
  create more jobsa much more difficult task.
  Why is this more difficult for government to do?

18
Getting more chairs

• Wilson suggests a number of models in which the
  US government could become the employer of last
  resort. Please pick any one of his models, and
  briefly describe how it would work.
• Good idea, bad idea, possible idea?

19
Wilson Concludes

• Increasing the employment base would have an
  enormous positive impact on the social
  organization of the ghetto neighborhoods. As more
  people became employed, crime, including violent
  crime, and drug use would subside families will
  be strengthened and welfare receipt will decline
  significantly ghetto related culture and
  behavior, no longer sustained and nourished by
  persistent joblessness, will gradually fade.
• What do you think? Agree, disagree? Would Chester
  be any different if there were 50,000 good jobs
  on the waterfront?

20
Poverty in American

• Do you think America will enact public policies
  that will successfully reduce poverty?
• If you could to AC and wager on the poverty rate
  in 2020higher, lower, about the same

21
US Poverty in Perspective, 1870-2004
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NextReflection, test

• I hope this class has increased your
  understandingand insured that youll never be
  able to make this toast