Investing in People

For several decades, New York has been moving toward a human chasm – a city of the very wealthy and the very poor. There have been several attempts at reversing this process, grappling with ideas about strengthening the middle class and providing economic mobility for the working poor.

2030 Plan

The Bloomberg administration has recently unveiled an ambitious strategy for the future of New York City called the 2030 Plan. This is an attempt by Mayor Bloomberg to identify and address long-term infrastructure needs. Among the many initiatives presented by the plan are expanding and improving the transit systems, expanding the city’s energy supply, and improving air quality. Also included are housing, open space, and water quality initiatives. Many of these ideas would enable the city to be more energy- and land-efficient.

But the 2030 Plan does not adequately address the human element. If problems of the city’s working poor – mostly African Americans, Latinos, and recent immigrants - are not confronted, they could well continue a dangerous trend, dividing the city along the lines of income, race, and immigrant status.

A new Brookings Institution study reveals that, when adjusted for inflation, income for Black males has actually declined over the past 30 years. The income gap between White and Black families has grown. The Economic Mobility Project found that “Blacks born into the middle class in the late 1960s are far more likely than whites to earn less than their parents.”

Need a plan for
human capital

We should have a plan that addresses not only bricks and mortar, but also the more significant issue of developing human capital. Some grim facts of life for many New Yorkers will clarify the need for a focus on people.

More than 40 percent of all New York City residents live near or below the federal poverty line. Nearly 40 percent of Black males are jobless. Our public high schools have a dropout rate of about 50 percent. Less than 10 percent of Black and Latino high school graduates earn a Regents diploma, the bare minimum to be competitive in the global economy. About 170,000 of our young people ages 16 to 24 are “disconnected” from both school and the workforce. Over 65,000 New Yorkers are incarcerated, and about 25,000 are paroled back to their communities each year, most without the means or the skills to find gainful employment.

The Community Service Society conducts an annual survey of low-income New Yorkers called “The Unheard Third.” We are seeing a number of disturbing trends that the 2030 Plan does not address. In our latest survey, only 37 percent of full-time working poor are reporting that they get health insurance on the job. Twenty-one percent are not able to get needed health care; 28 percent cannot afford prescription drugs. Among those who are unemployed, nearly one-third report that health concerns are the major barrier to going back to work.

Training and Benefits

We need a plan that is driven by workforce development, one that includes education and job training. It must also address the need for adequate job benefits such as health insurance and paid sick leave. Just as the mayor’s plan invests in the future needs of the city’s infrastructure, we also need to invest in a long-term human capital initiative. Here are some possible components of that initiative.

New York City needs a middle school and high school system that connects education with available jobs for those not going on to college. This means a well-funded career and technical education high school. We also need an upgraded and well-funded community college system. Our community colleges have devolved into the stepchildren of the CUNY system.

We need a revamped justice system that focuses on education and employment as the main ways to prevent recidivism. Nearly 60 percent of formerly incarcerated inmates return to prison within three years primarily because little is available to them in order to survive than a return to criminal activities.

We should devise a second chance system for those “disconnected youth” who have dropped out of both school and work. About half these young people do not have a high school diploma and almost all have insufficient skills and little or no work experience. But given some help, motivation, training, and time, they can complete high school, enter a training program, get a first job, and embark on a career or go on to college.

We also need a specific program to provide those with deep educational deficits with the skills, apprenticeships, and certification that can equip them with the ability to earn a decent wage and support themselves and their families.

Job benefits, such as health insurance, paid sick leave, and child care, should be priorities if public officials are serious about reducing poverty and keeping people on the job. Even as crucial a job as security guards in our most prominent commercial buildings lack these benefits. A start would be strengthening legal provisions for unionization of workers.

These programs are not some favor to the poor. A continued drift toward social inequality coupled with the growth of disconnected youth will ultimately be a perpetual drag on the city’s economy in terms of unacceptable tax rates, crime, and entrenched poverty. If our economy is to expand and businesses continue to want to locate here, we must have a human capital plan for the future alongside the mayor’s infrastructure plan.

From the New York Amsterdam News
November 15 – 21, 2007