Den svenska nyliberalismen hämtar sin ideologi från USA där man nu med facit i hand kan se hur oerhört destruktiv ökade inkomstklyftor är för det amerikanska samhället.
Lyndsey Layton skriver i Washington Post att en majoritet av alla elever i USA:s kommunala skolor nu lever i fattigdom, en rent grotesk siffra för supermakten USA : Majority of U.S. public school students are in poverty
For the first time in at least 50 years, a majority of U.S. public school students come from low-income families, according to a new analysis of 2013 federal data, a statistic that has profound implications for the nation.
The Southern Education Foundation reports that 51 percent of students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade were eligible under the federal program for free and reduced-price lunches in the 2012-2013 school year. The lunch program is a rough proxy for poverty, but the explosion in the number of needy children in the nation’s public classrooms is a recent phenomenon that has been gaining attention among educators, public officials and researchers.
“We’ve all known this was the trend, that we would get to a majority, but it’s here sooner rather than later,” said Michael A. Rebell, the executive director of the Campaign for Educational Equity at Columbia University, noting that the poverty rate has been increasing even as the economy has improved.
Vi är på väg tillbaks till det gamla klassamhället, och det med råge.
Det är mot den här bakgrunden som man kan se president Obamas förslag att göra USA:s två-åriga s.k. community colleges gratis för de elever som klarar sig fram till en examen: Why Obama’s plan for tuition-free community colleges is a good idea
resident Obama announced the other day the framework for a plan to make two years of community college tuition-free for those who are serious about going – primarily those who attend at least half time in programs that lead to transfer to a four-year school or a vocational/technical certificate for a job. It would be expensive: At least $60 billion over 10 years in federal funds, plus whatever individual states have to kick in. For states that are already generous with tuition aid, it could mean a reduction in outlays, but as Karin Klein points out, there still would be some inequities among the states that should be addressed.
Jag har väldigt svårt att se hur republikanerna skull gå med på ett sånt förslag. Men de senaste siffrorna visar hur katastrofalt läget nu är för allt fler amerikaner och deras barn.
Det är viktigt att också påpeka att välbärgade amerikaner har sina barn i privata skolor. Något som vi aldrig hade råd med.
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