Inequality or failure to rise?

Better to lift those at the bottom than soak the rich

According to a recent WBUR poll done by The MassINC Polling Group, more than half of us doubt that the American Dream of a better life for the next generation will be achieved by our children.  Upward mobility seems improbable.  Middle class status and income will belong to fewer of us, say poll respondents.

Class labels –upper, middle and working or lower class – fit roughly into the quintiles used by CommonWealth magazine and others to sort the population and consider their economic status.  However, two other indicators of social class are closely intertwined: education and occupation.  They may provide a more direct way to reduce inequality.

Whether those at the bottom are called the lowest quintile or the working poor, the way to reduce inequality is to help those in this group rise into the middle class rather than by legislating smaller rewards for those who earn millions or own billions.

It’s inspiring to read of success stories like those of Ruth Simmons, who was born into poverty but through access to   education rose to become president of Brown University, or Peter Peterson, who began working the cash register in his father’s restaurant at the age of eight, struggled for his education, and later became secretary of commerce.  Many more people, however, remain stuck in the income quintile they were born into.

Governor Patrick knows first-hand how education can raise a child from poverty to the middle class – and beyond.  He has the occupation and the financial assets to prove it.  His rise began in the ninth grade, when he entered Milton Academy.  He sees education as a lever to raise career aspirations and earning power.  In the Gateway Cities  (Lawrence, Lowell, Holyoke, and others), he is proposing  emphasis on literacy beginning in kindergarten, summer English language programs,  special attention from counselors, and exploration in high school of a range of careers. Carefully tailored assistance could well facilitate entry into the middle class to young people now below it.

Free-floating anger was expressed by the occupiers recently evicted from Dewey Square, but they might better focus their attention on raising the status of members of the 99 percent and assisting them to become more productive citizens rather than pushing for smaller rewards for those who earn millions.  In other words, their focus has been on the wrong kind of occupation.

Could we tax the one percent more to pay for the Patrick education initiatives and other such efforts?  Perhaps, and that would certainly be of help in these tight budget times. But what difference does it really make if others have yachts and McMansions?  What matters is having accessible pathways up, so that anyone who wants to change their lot has a real opportunity to climb out of the income ladder’s bottom quintile.

Eugenie Beal is on the board of the Boston Natural Areas Network, which she helped found in 1977, and a longtime member of the Friends of the Public Garden. She was the first chairwoman of the Boston Conservation Commission, in the 1970s, and the first director of the Boston Environment Department.