Working Cities Forum: Talking About Poverty

The 2008 presidential race is off and running, with candidates already crisscrossing the country searching for money and votes. Previous election campaigns have been characterized by an almost complete lack of focus on an urban agenda, especially policies specifically of concern to Black Americans, the working poor, and urban poverty. In order to elicit candidates' views and possible plans on these issues, the Community Service Society, in conjunction with Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union (SEUI), is sponsoring a year long, bipartisan series of conversations with presidential candidates, entitled "Working Cities."

Last week, John Edwards, former senator from North Carolina and 2004 Democratic vice presidential candidate, addressed the Working Cities forum. We were fortunate to have the event moderated by the Daily News columnist Errol Louis.

Edwards described some of his policy priorities aimed at confronting poverty: creating one million transitional jobs, new Section 8 federal housing vouchers, supporting federal legislation to make it easier to form labor unions, creating opportunities for the formerly incarcerated to reenter society and the labor market, universal health insurance, and expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit. He also explained what he called "asset building," educating consumers about savings accounts and increasing their "financial literacy." Edwards recognized that globalization has compromised the ability of low-wage earners to ascend the economic ladder and stressed the need for trade agreements to include protections for workers and the environment.

Job Market Weakness

A number of Edwards' proposals are mirrored in the recommendations of the Community Service Society's latest labor market report, "Unemployment and Joblessness in New York City, 2006." The report reveals that the city's job market is improving, but areas of weakness remain. The full report is available online on our website: www.cssny.org.

The share of the city's population holding a job in 2006 is just about equal to the jobholding rate in 2000. This means that the city has finally dug itself out of the recession and the economic shocks that followed 9/11.

Among men, jobholding by Whites has reached its pre-recession 77.8 percent rate. But the rate of jobholding among Blacks and Hispanics at 60.3 percent and 70.6 percent, respectively, remain below their 2000 high water marks -- 64.0 percent for Black men and 72.8 percent for Hispanic men.

Black and Latino men are not the only groups that have yet to fully benefit from the rising tide of employment. High rates of joblessness are compounded by an alarming high school dropout rate and large numbers of the formerly incarcerated returning home without much hope of a job and a place back in the community.

The recovery has completely bypassed the city's youth. There has been no decline in the teenage unemployment rate from its recession-related high of 28.7 percent in 2003.

Recovery bypassed
city's youth

Prior CSS research has revealed that more than 170,000 of New York City's young people are "disconnected" -- neither in school nor in the workforce. Less than half of those entering high school graduate. Of those who do graduate, less than 10 percent of Black and Hispanic students receive a Regents diploma, the best preparation for employment or higher education.

Most high school dropouts don't get past the 9th or 10th grades. By the time they reach high school, it's often too late to improve their chances for success in the classroom and beyond.  Most leave school without the skills necessary for employment.

In our society, joblessness -- and poverty -- can always be traced to a substandard education.

This situation not only limits individual potential. For some time, private sector leaders have complained about the depth and quality of education of the city's public high school graduates.  An educated workforce is essential if the city's economy is to flourish in the 21st century global marketplace.

The findings of the latest labor market report are further evidence that more job growth alone will not address the needs of New York's working poor. There are a number of reasons why low-wage workers find that they cannot pull themselves out of poverty, including a minimum wage that has not kept pace with inflation, the lack of health benefits, the rise in housing costs, and the decline of union membership.

Taking Action

There are several areas where local leaders can increase opportunities for groups not benefiting from the city's economic resurgence. Mayor Bloomberg and our members of Congress should voice their opposition to the cuts to job training and vocational education contained in President Bush's Fiscal Year 2008 budget.

An Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for single young adults, the group in society most likely to suffer a high percentage of unemployment, should be pursued at the local, state, and federal levels. The EITC has been a powerful tool for encouraging the working poor to stay in the workforce rather than fall back onto the welfare rolls. And a "second chance" system for young New Yorkers -- both those who have dropped out of school and those coming out of prison -- should be established by the city and state.

Progress toward combating poverty will continue to depend on public policy as much as prosperity. The Working Cities forums provide us with an opportunity to explore candidates' policies on poverty. It is no longer a topic that can be ignored.

From the New York Amsterdam News
March 8 - 14, 2007