Work Hard, Study Hard and Still Get Left Behind

The American Dream mythology says that if you work hard and play by the rules you can be a success. This mythology ignores the fact that people born into affluent families have a far greater chance of attaining financial success than people born into lower income families precisely because of all the advantages and privileges that come with affluence. Those who rise out of poverty and achieve the American Dream are extremely rare and the exception to the rule.

A new study, “Working Hard, Left Behind,” by the Campaign for College Opportunity, found that over 33% of California families are low income (earning less than $45,397 for a family of four) despite their hard work. The state currently ranks #1 in the nation in the number of working poor families. The solution, the Los Angeles Times argues, is higher education. Since Californians with Bachelor’s degrees earn $1,340,000 more in their lifetimes than those with only high school diplomas, making everyone go to college would necessarily solve the problem, right?

According to the Times, the study found that “higher education is a proven pathway from poverty to prosperity for working Californians.” However, in science we generally require a high level of evidence before we can say we have proof and the evidence simply isn’t there to say that higher education is a “proven pathway to prosperity.” Consider all the unemployed people with higher degrees.

Both the Times, and apparently the researchers at the Campaign for College Opportunity, have confused correlation with causation. Yes, people with college degrees do tend to earn more than those who lack them, but that doesn’t mean that the degree is the cause of their financial success. Affluence increases the chances that a person will do well in grades K-12, increasing the chances of getting into a four-year college and succeeding there, as well. While college achievement does indeed correlate with future financial success, affluence correlates with both academic success and financial success. Thus, it is entirely possible, indeed likely, that familial wealth is the cause of future financial success, in part because it increases the chances of academic success.

The conflation of correlation with causation has led the Times and the Campaign for College Opportunity to some absurd policy prescriptions, like proposal that we increase enrollment of low income adults in colleges, while doing nothing to directly address their poverty. Of course it would be wonderful if the state were to increase funding for its universities and community colleges and provide the financial aid so that every adult in the state could attend college, or even just provide childcare for single mothers, but this would not solve the problem for several obvious reasons. Many low income adults lack the prerequisite skills to succeed in college, including literacy, self-confidence, and study skills. Indeed, many have the equivalent of an elementary school reading level or a long history of academic failure. Many are working full time to support their families and simply lack the time and energy to complete college classes on the side.

Considering that a wealth-based achievement gap exists by the time children are three (and it tends to grow as children move through the education system), it would be a lot more efficient to invest in programs that reduce poverty and material insecurity for families, that encourage parents to read and play with their children, that improve perinatal and children’s health, as well as preschool programs that prepare kids for kindergarten. This would front load the system by increasing the number of people graduating high school with the skills to succeed in college.

However, there is another problem with the Time’s and the Campaign’s reasoning: Even if everyone graduated from college there would continue to be a significant wealth gap. Want and privation are products of wealth and privilege, which in turn are products of an economic system based on exploitation. So long as there is an employing class that pays its employees only a fraction of the value of the goods and services they produce, pocketing the rest as profits, there will continue to be poverty. Likewise, as long as workers accept their dependence on employers, especially without a fight, there will continue to be a downward spiral in wages for everyone, including the college educated. Consider, for example, how much the average middle class, college educated family has lost in personal wealth over the past five years, or the overall decline in living standards that has been occurring since the 1970s for all but the richest Americans.

Today in Labor History—May 20

May 20, 1639 – The first American public school was established in Dorchester, Mass. (From the Daily Bleed)

1776 portrait of Brant

May 20, 1776 – The Mohawks, under Joseph Brandt, defeated Americans at the Battle of the Cedars. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 20, 1911 – The anarchist Magonistas of the Partido Liberal Mexicano published a proclamation calling for the peasants to take collective possession of the land in the territories of Baja California. They had already defeated government forces there. Members of the IWW traveled south to help them. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 20, 1926 –The Railway Labor Act was enacted in the wake of strikes and federal seizures of the railroads. The law guaranteed collective bargaining rights to railroad workers. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 20, 1938 – 500 unemployed workers began a sit-down strike in Hotel Georgia, Vancouver, BC. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 20, 1946 – The U.S. government took over control of the coal mines (again). (From the Daily Bleed)

May 20, 1950 – A general strike and rebellion began in Bolivia. It was put down two days later. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 20, 1963 – White mobs attacked the "Freedom Riders" in Montgomery, Alabama. President Kennedy sent 400 US marshals to Alabama to protect Freedom Riders. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 20, 1980 – Koreans rose up in Kwangju against the repressive U.S.-supported government. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 20, 1989 – Martial law was declared in Beijing to quell the pro-democracy movement and massive student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—May 19

May 19, 1850 – Four thousand Mexican workers gathered in Sonora, California, to protest the "Foreign Miners' Tax," enacted to drive them from gold fields. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 19, 1855 – U.S. troops landed in Shanghai to "protect American interests." (From the Daily Bleed)

Jose Marti

May 19, 1895 – Cuban Revolutionary and independence leader Jose Marti died. (From the Daily Bleed)

Fraterville Miners Circle From Coal Creek Disater (Image by Brian Stansberry)

May 19, 1902 –An explosion in Coal Creek, Tennessee killed 184 miners. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 19, 1921 – Continuing labor organizing and strikes in Mingo County (see Matewan Massacre, May 18 Today in Labor History) led the Governor to proclaim martial law in Mingo County. UMWA membership had bloomed in the wake of the "Matewan Massacre").(From the Daily Bleed)

May 19, 1925 – Malcolm X  was born, Omaha, Nebraska. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 19, 1928 – A coal-mine explosion in Mather, Pa killed 194,. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 19, 1934 – 10,000 participated in "No More War" march, New York City. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 19, 1989 -- Trinidadian Marxist philosopher C.L.R. James died. James was the author of The Black Jacobins (1938), Breaking a Boundary (1963), & numerous articles and essays on class & race antagonism, West Indian self-determination, cricket, Marxism, & aesthetics. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—May 18

Tupac Amaru

May 18, 1781 – Tupac Amaru II, and other Peruvian indigenous leaders, who rebelled against the Spanish conquistadors, was drawn and quartered in Plaza Mayor del Cuzco. (From the Daily Bleed)

Bakunin speaking at IWA, 1869

May 18, 1814 –Russian Anarchist militant and philosopher Mikhail Bakunin was born.  (From the Daily Bleed)

May 18, 1872 – Philosopher, mathematician & social critic Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) was born in Wales. Russell won the Nobel prize for literature in 1950. He was imprisoned as a pacifist during WWI, and again in 1961, for protesting in Whitehall. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 18, 1895 – Augusto Sandino, leader of the original Sandinista movement for  Nicaraguan independence was born. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 18, 1917 - The Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen started organizing in packinghouses across the United States, ultimately bringing their membership from 6,500 in 1917 to 100,000 by 1919. (From Workday Minnesota)

May 18, 1920 - Ten people were killed when coal company officials in Matewan, West Virginia, tried to remove striking union workers from coal company housing. They sent in agents from the Baldwin-Felts detective agency who evicted several families before trying to hop on a train out of town. Sheriff Hatfield, who supported the miners’ right to organize, tried to arrest the detectives who, in turn, tried to arrest Hatfield. Unbeknownst to the detectives, they had been surrounded by miners. No one knows who shot first, but when the smoke had cleared, there were 7 dead detectives (including Albert and Lee Felts) and 4 dead townspeople. The episode became known as the “Matewan Battle” or “Matewan Massacre,” and is depicted in John Sayles’ film Matewan. It should be pointed out that mining was one of the most dangerous and corrupt industries around. Miners were typically forced to live in company town and purchase living necessities from company stores at inflated prices. They were paid in scrip, which was useless outside of the company towns. In the time leading up to the Battle of Matewan, numerous miners had been assassinated by vigilantes, goons or detectives. In the aftermath of the massacre, the miners went on strike and were treated to even more violence. Striking miners were beaten and left to die in the streets. The remaining Felts brother, Tom, instigated a vendetta against Sheriff Hatfield, eventually having him killed by his agency in 1921. (From Workday Minnesota, Wikipedia, Daily Bleed and Matewanwv.com)

May 18, 1927 –Possibly the first U.S. school massacre occurred. Andrew Kehoe was seeking revenge against the community for taxes imposed on his farm to pay for a new school, set off a TNT bomb in the school in Bath, Michigan, killing 43 people, including 39 grade-school children. He then killed his wife, himself & the school superintendent. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 18, 1968 – 10,000 marched in Madrid, Spain, erected barricades and clashed with police, in solidarity with the May revolt in France (and in spite of the fact they are still living under a fascist dictatorship). (From the Daily Bleed)

May 18, 1979 – Silkwood vs. Kerr-McGee case was settled, establishing that corporations are responsible for the people they irradiate. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 18, 1991 – 200,000 violently protest against South Korean government. (From the Daily Bleed)

Greece Outlaws Teachers Strike

The Greek government has outlawed a teachers strike set to begin on May 17. The government signed a civil mobilization order banning the strike, something that previously had only been used in times of national emergencies, according the WSWS. This is the first time the tactic has been used preemptively before a strike has even started. Workers who violate the order are subject to being fired, arrested and jailed.

Since the imposition of austerity in 2008, the Greek government has relied on such heavy handed tactics to crush any opposition and keep the public in line. Civil mobilization orders, with the support of riot police, were used to violently suppress strikes by subway, rail and tram workers earlier this year. The teachers’ strike ban follows the Greek government’s latest deal with the European Commission, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Central Bank, attacking teachers’ pay and benefits, and working conditions (including the demand they work an extra two hours per week without pay). 10,000 teachers also face being laid off, according to the WSWS.

So far, no civil mobilization order has been defied by the unions, thus encouraging the government to continue making anti-worker deals with the IMF and European Central Bank. However, thousands of people did demonstrate against the civil mobilization on Monday and teachers voted this week whether to defy the mobilization orders and strike. Preliminary results indicate that the majority of teachers do indeed wish to strike, despite the threat of being fired and sent to prison for 5 years. However, according to the WSWS, the public service trade union federation (ADEDY) will not support the teachers and has undermined attempts by its members to protest the mobilization order.

Looked at in isolation, the strike ban in Greece seems like an autocratic attack on democratic rights, which it is. However, similar events are taking place throughout Europe and elsewhere, indicating a concerted effort by governments to extract concessions and givebacks on behalf of an employing class that wants everyone but themselves to pay for their economic crisis. In Denmark, for example, 70,000 teachers were recently locked out for resisting attacks on their working conditions, while teachers in Mexico and public sector workers in Turkey have been accused of terrorism and imprisoned for similar resistance. In the U.S. teachers strikes are banned in many states, while Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has used the state to take over several school districts and impose dictatorial financial managers with the power to remove unions and fire elected officials.

Today in Labor History—May 17

May 17, 1838 - The first women’s anti-slavery conference was held in Philadelphia. (From Workday Minnesota)

May 17, 1858 –1,200 Coeur d'Alene, Palouse, Spokane & Skitswich Indians defeated Colonel Steptoe’s forces near Colfax, WA. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 17, 1900 – Following the relief of Mafeking, 26,000 Boer women and children died in the world's first concentration camps. (From the Daily Bleed)

Thomas Mooney, 1910

May 17, 1917 – Tom Mooney's scheduled date of execution was stayed while case was appealed. Mooney ultimately spent 22 years in prison for the San Francisco Preparedness Day Parade bombing in 1916, a crime he did not commit. Mooney, along with codefendant Warren Billings, were members of the IWW and were railroaded because of their union affiliation. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 17, 1947 –President Truman ended a nation-wide railroad strike by threatening to take over the railroads and send in the army. (From Shmoop Labor History website)

May 17, 1954 – In Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (Kansas), the Supreme Court ruled that "separate but equal" public education was unconstitutional, and a violation of the 14th Amendment. The ruling reversed the 1896 "separate but equal" Plessy vs Ferguson decision. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 17, 1968 – Thousands of students marched for the second day in a row from the Sorbonne to the Renault works in spite of the opposition of the trade unions which were afraid of revolutionary contamination. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 17, 1968 – BOAC pilots in England began a work-to-rule, 48 hours earlier than originally planned. (From the Daily Bleed)

Teachers Offer to Work for Free and Get Fired Anyway

The small Buena Vista, Michigan school district (500 students) closed its doors this week—more than a month early—because it is broke, despite the fact that its teachers agreed to work for free. If the district does not find the money to reopen, seniors may be prevented from graduating.

The cause of the district’s financial woes, according to the Huffington Post, was that it spent money provided by the state for running the Wolverine Secure Treatment Center, an organization with which the district no longer works. Consequently, the state has frozen district funds until the district can repay $402,000. The district also lost $3 million in state funding due to declining enrollment, Yahoo News reported. However, Buena Vista, like many other districts throughout the U.S., has suffered most significantly from across the board cuts in education spending by state governments.

The state of Michigan could have bailed out the struggling district, thus saving parents the hassle and expense of finding childcare for a month and the government the expense of paying unemployment insurance to dozens of teachers, but that apparently would have sent the wrong message The Michigan Department of Education argued that the district created the problem through incompetence and must now pay the penalty (even if that means that children, parents and employees are the ones who actually pay).

The local school board could also have found a way to keep its schools open, but unanimously approved the closure. The board approved a “deficit reduction” plan they hope will appease the state and result in the release of funds for next school year. It also proposed a summer boot camp emphasizing standardized testing skills (to be paid for with federal funds) in lieu of normal instruction, Michigan Radio reported on Wednesday.

In late breaking news, state Superintendent Mike Flanagan approved the Buena Vista school board deficit reduction plan, allowing the district to start up again and finish the school year without having to resort to their boot camp plan, according to the Holland Sentinel. The district will also recall 27 laid-off teachers.

What remains unclear (probably deliberately so) are the details of the deficit reduction plan. Will pay and/or benefits be slashed for the 2013-2014 school year? Will course offerings be cut and the teaching and support staffs downsized? Will furlough days be imposed? Buena Vista may be out of the frying pan for the current school year, but back they students and teachers will likely be back into the fire next year.

Today in Labor History—May 16

Voltaire, age 70

May 16, 1717 – Voltaire was imprisoned in the Bastille for writing subversive satire. (From the Daily Bleed)

Lamartine in front of the Town Hall of Paris rejects the red flag on 25 February 1848

 

May 16, 1848 – An unsuccessful communist coup was attempted, Paris. (From the Daily Bleed)

Napoleon atop the Vendôme column: "So, you low-life bugger, we'll take you down like we did your scoundrel nephew!"

May 16, 1871 – The Paris Commune destroyed the Vendôme Column ("monument de barbarie"). (From the Daily Bleed)

May 16, 1898 - 1,600 woodworkers in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, went on strike at seven sash and door manufacturers for better pay and union recognition. (From Workday Minnesota)

May 16, 1912 – Studs Terkel was born, New York City. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 16, 1918 – Congress passed the Sedition Act against radicals, leading to the arrest, imprisonment, execution and deportation of dozens of unionists, anarchists and communists. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 16, 1934 – Teamsters initiated a General Strike for union recognition in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 16, 1938 - The U.S. Supreme Court issued the Mackay decision permitting employers to permanently replace striking workers. In a classic case of double speak, the court said that management could not fire strikers, but could "permanently replace" them. One of the most recent and well-known examples of this occurred when Reagan crushed the air traffic controllers’ strike. The U.S. is one of the only countries in the world that allows bosses to fire (er, replace) striking workers. (From Workday Minnesota)

May 16, 1943 –The Warsaw ghetto resistance was finally crushed by the Nazis. 56,000 died in the process. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 16, 1979 –A. Philip Randolph died. Randolph was an African American labor leader, peace activist, and president and founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. (From the Daily Bleed)

May 16, 2007 – Baristas at the Starbucks in East Grand Rapids announced their membership in the IWW Starbucks Workers Union. Starbucks, notorious for poor treatment of workers, followed with numerous anti-labor violations and was forced by the NLRB to settle Grand Rapids union worker complaints in October. (From the Daily Bleed)