The New York Times Sunday Magazine today has an illustration – unavailable online as far as I can see – that charts reader response to a column about whether the new mayor Bill de Blasio “can combat income inequality in New York.”
Poor public schools topped the ideas about why the divide is getting wider. That was followed by “not enough affordable housing, absentee billionaires don’t pay enough taxes, a decline in social programs and the finance industry is too powerful.”
Here is a link to the original article. Other than replacing tech industry with finance industry, would readers here respond much differently?
the key is educational opportunity — the only barrier to success is knowledge — but that can be a very tall barrier! SF *needs* to focus on its schools ASAP — they are such a disaster. For starts, continue the process of dismantling the failed idea of bussing kids all around the city — let neighborhood schools serve local kids, so that families can invest in improving their local schools. Kick out the teachers union which protects poor teachers at the expense of our children’s education. Finally, we need to be teaching kids *how* to learn — so they can have a lifetime of confident inquiry and growth.