Highbrow Magazine - finding jobs https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/finding-jobs en On Chicago’s West Side, No Rebound From the Recession https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/5788-chicago-s-west-side-no-rebound-recession <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Sun, 05/01/2016 - 13:55</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1blackemployment_2.jpg?itok=3UtUQZJX"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1blackemployment_2.jpg?itok=3UtUQZJX" width="480" height="270" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From the <a href="http://chicagoreporter.com/">Chicago Reporter</a> and republished by our content partner New America Media</strong>:</p> <p> </p> <p>Quaid Stephens can remove mold, asbestos and lead paint from buildings. He can even drive a forklift. He has nine training certificates, including one for CPR, but he still can’t find a job.</p> <p> </p> <p>At a recent job fair at the Austin Branch Library on Chicago’s West Side, Stephens, who was released from prison more than a year ago, earnestly filled out job applications.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>“It’s like you want me to go back on the corners to sell drugs, pick the pistol back up and rob and do what I need to do to make the ends meet,” said the 44-year-old who was in federal prison for 12 1⁄2 years for bank robbery. “I don’t want to do that. I want to earn an honest living.”</p> <p> </p> <p>His story isn’t that unusual in a pocket of the city where the unemployment rate remains stubbornly high, the product of a perfect storm of issues – disinvestment, disappearing manufacturing jobs, poor public schools and high incarceration rates.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>While the overall unemployment rate in Chicago has declined since the recession ended, the rate in African-American communities has remained high. The citywide unemployment rate was 8.4 percent in 2014, but it has been well into the double digits in neighborhoods like Austin, North Lawndale, Englewood and Garfield Park, according to a Reporter analysis.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>The interconnection between unemployment and incarceration has made these communities least likely to share in the economic recovery, experts say. Like Stephens, who spent a portion of his youth in West Garfield Park, more than half of all men released to Chicago from Illinois prisons return to a handful of economically depressed neighborhoods, including many on the West Side.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/1chicago%20%28Hao%20Flickr%29.jpg" style="height:428px; width:640px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>***</p> <p> </p> <p>Historically, black joblessness has always been twice that of white unemployment, said Michael Dawson, a political science professor at the University of Chicago.</p> <p> </p> <p>“African-American employment has been bad for almost half a century,” he said. “The recession can make it worse. Occasionally, it can get a little better, but it’s been very bad due to a number of different reasons. And these reasons tend to be structural – and there are not a lot of reasons for optimism in the immediate future.”</p> <p> </p> <p>That lack of optimism stems from the continued loss of manufacturing jobs and the decline of public-sector or government jobs, which were an important source of employment for blacks. These jobs, Dawson said, have been replaced with low-wage service jobs that don’t have the same benefits, wages and security that came with manufacturing and public-sector jobs.</p> <p> </p> <p>Today, the growth of high-end service sector jobs in banking, finance, law and technology — industries in which blacks are sorely underrepresented and ill-prepared — are fueling the city’s economic fortunes.</p> <p> </p> <p>Mayor Rahm Emanuel has pushed to develop and improve downtown infrastructure to lure big name corporations like Motorola Solutions and ConAgra Foods, and the jobs that came with them to the city’s business center. However, those jobs didn’t necessarily go to people in communities where they were most needed.</p> <p> </p> <p>Austin exemplifies the divestment left in the wake of the decline of manufacturing, says Charles Perry of the Westside Health Authority, which provides re-entry and employment services. The agency places between 600 and 800 people a year in jobs out of the 12,000 seeking services. Like Stephens, 90 percent of them have criminal records and lack a high school diploma or a GED.</p> <p> </p> <p>Stephens received his GED in prison, where he completed four of his training certificates. Before he started cycling in and out of prison for crimes from drug dealing to car theft, he had held seven jobs – all unskilled.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/1blackbusinessman_0.jpg" style="height:349px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>***</p> <p> </p> <p>The West Side was once teeming with manufacturing companies like Brach’s Candy and Western Electric. But as white flight took root, sped up by the riots following the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in 1968, the jobs left.</p> <p> </p> <p>“If you go up to Cicero, you see all these old factories. Well, they moved out and nobody moved in. Out went the jobs, in came unemployment,” Perry said.</p> <p> </p> <p>What replaced them were vacant storefronts or churches and the few businesses that exist are immigrant-owned, family-run and don’t hire from the community, he said.</p> <p> </p> <p>“When you don’t have dollars circulating in your community, it is impossible to have employment,” Perry said.</p> <p> </p> <p>And with the city losing manufacturing jobs to the suburbs, transportation now becomes a barrier to employment, said Mark Sanders of the North Lawndale Employment Network.  “A large percentage of their paychecks goes just to getting back and forth from work,” said Sanders, NLEN’s director of re-entry, policy and advocacy. NLEN is a workforce development organization that provides training and job placement services to ex-offenders and other people who are hard to employ.</p> <p> </p> <p>At one point, Stephens found seasonal work at a warehouse in Melrose Park. He took the CTA train to Harlem Avenue, where he caught a regional Pace bus to work. His family gave him $33 for a weekly bus pass.</p> <p> </p> <p>Those lucky enough to find a job through temp agencies face sporadic employment. Oftentimes ex-offenders get caught up in this vicious cycle. They may land a “temp to perm” job, but a company may use their criminal record to keep them from becoming a permanent hire, Sanders said.</p> <p> </p> <p>It’s an end run around both a city and state law prohibiting private employers from discriminating against people with criminal backgrounds. Both laws, which took effect last year, prevent employers from inquiring about felony convictions on job applications. The law prohibits employers from checking an applicant’s background until selected for an interview.</p> <p> </p> <p>“It’s not just ‘Ban the Box,’ even though that is what they call it. It’s actually move the box because at some point they will do a background check,” Sanders said.</p> <p> </p> <p>Stephens discovered that the hard way. He had three promising job leads until his background check. He said, “It’s like after they do the background check, I’m dead.”</p> <p> </p> <p>***</p> <p> </p> <p>Black ex-offenders face double discrimination based on their race and their criminal record, said Devah Pager, a professor of sociology and public policy at Harvard University who has written extensively about the effects of incarceration.</p> <p> </p> <p>Even without a criminal record and with competitive skills, black people face hiring discrimination. Pager conducted a study in 2003 in Milwaukee that showed that white people with a criminal record were more likely to be hired than black people without a record.</p> <p> </p> <p>Mass incarceration reinforces broad stereotypes about all African-American men and affects hiring practices, she said.</p> <p> </p> <p>“It kind of reinforces the association between race and criminality in the minds of employers, and I think that contributes to forms of direct discrimination against black men in hiring situations,” said Pager, the author of “Marked: Race, Crime, and Finding Work in an Era of Mass Incarceration.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Pager said the official unemployment figures don’t capture the real employment picture in black communities.</p> <p> </p> <p>“When millions of people, and disproportionately people of color, are being removed from those statistics, it gives us a biased sense of the health of our economy,” Pager said. “If all the people who are currently imprisoned were considered part of the labor force statistics, unemployment rates would be a couple of points higher, and the racial disparities would look larger.”</p> <p> </p> <p>For Stephens, the issue is simple. "I need a job," he said.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em>This is the first in a series of stories examining unemployment in the African- American community.</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>From the <a href="http://chicagoreporter.com/">Chicago Reporter</a> and republished by our content partner New America Media</strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/chicago" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Chicago</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/west-side-chicago" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">west side of chicago</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/unemployment" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">unemployment</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/jobs" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">jobs</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/incarceration" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">incarceration</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/finding-jobs" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">finding jobs</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">La Risa Lynch</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Google Images</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Sun, 01 May 2016 17:55:34 +0000 tara 6883 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/5788-chicago-s-west-side-no-rebound-recession#comments The Student Loans Crisis: Default or Pay? https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/5434-student-loans-crisis-default-or-pay <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Sun, 11/01/2015 - 15:00</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1studentdebt%20%28under30ceo%29_0.jpg?itok=IO0pG64E"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1studentdebt%20%28under30ceo%29_0.jpg?itok=IO0pG64E" width="480" height="320" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>In a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/opinion/sunday/why-i-defaulted-on-my-student-loans.html?_r=2">June 6<sup>th</sup> article</a> for the <em>New York Times</em>, Lee Siegel told the story of how he “signed away his young life” by taking out his first student loan. This is an experience many of us can relate to. For those who were not fortunate enough to have parents both willing and able to pay for schooling, or be hard-working and/or physically gifted enough to be deserving of a merit or athletic scholarship, taking out a loan is the only means to higher learning. And higher learning, we are inaccurately told from a young age, is the most surefire way to achieve success. It is this uniquely American narrative, coupled with the ever-increasing price of education, that has resulted in our current situation.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://money.cnn.com/2014/09/10/pf/college/student-loans/">According to CNN,</a> 40 million Americans now hold at least one outstanding student loan, up from 29 million in 2008, at the start of the recession. Borrowers, on average, carry four student loans each, up from three in 2008, with an average debt increase of $6,000. Debtors now hold $29,000 in student loans up from $23,000 merely 7 years ago. The result? The nationwide student loan debt now amounts to a whopping $1.2 trillion, an 84% increase since the beginning of the recession.</p> <p> </p> <p>One of the unique aspects of student loans is that those taking out the loans are oftentimes in their late teens and lack the necessary financial track records to indicate to lenders their ability, or willingness, to repay when the time comes. They also often lack the financial literacy to make informed decisions for themselves. For those who land jobs following college, timely repayment of loans can have a very positive impact on future financial standings and credit scores, thereby opening the doors for future lower interest loans for large purchases, such as a car or a home.</p> <p> </p> <p>But for those who struggle to find work, the results can be extremely damaging. Imagine coming out of school and finding, as so many people do, a job market lacking in opportunities while you carry a ballooning financial burden that was billed as a path to financial security. This is an uncertainty shared by many. <a href="http://news.stanford.edu/news/2015/march/higher-ed-hoxby-030615.html">According to Caroline Hoxby</a>, the Scott and Donya Bommer Professor of Economics at Stanford University, attending college has increased during every financial recession since the 1960s. The most recent recession was no different. The reason, according to Hoxby, is that “the opportunity cost of going to college – the job opportunities a person forgoes while in college – drops very dramatically during recessions.” In other words, during a recession, it becomes harder to find a job, keep a job, and secure a promotion.</p> <p> </p> <p>So even though families might find it more painful to spend money on an education when they have less, or perhaps less reliable, incomes, the idea that a higher education opens more doors is an appealing one. It seems logical, then, to get a degree and improve your odds of being hired while the job market is light in hopes that when you receive your diploma, opportunities will be more available. But what if you finish school and those opportunities are still not available? What if you find yourself among those who collectively owe $1.2 trillion in oftentimes high-interest loans?</p> <p> </p> <p>Lee Siegel makes an argument for default. In his piece he paints a grim picture. By the end of his sophomore year at a small liberal arts college, he writes, his mother and he “had taken out a second loan, (his) father had declared bankruptcy and (his) parents had divorced.” His mother could no longer afford the high payments, and Siegel was forced to transfer to a state school in New Jersey, closer to his childhood neighborhood in the Bronx. (What he neglects to mention is that he dropped out in short order and transferred to Columbia University, a private school.)</p> <p> </p> <p>Student loans, as Siegel describes them, effectively tore his family apart. And yet, even with all the discord at home, Siegel trudged on to earn three degrees from Columbia University. And then came the choice. Siegel could “give up what had become (his) vocation and take a job that he didn’t want in order to repay the huge debt (he) had accumulated in college and graduate school. Or he could take what he had been led to believe was both the morally and legally reprehensible step of defaulting on his student loans.” Defaulting on his loans, he argues, was the only way he could secure a job that would not waste what he considers his “particular usefulness to society.” So he defaulted. And in a piece read by people the world over, he argued that the millions of young people today who hold the $1.2 trillion in loans should consider following his lead.</p> <p> </p> <p>In ways, he makes a good argument. Going back to school is the responsible choice. It qualifies as investing in one’s future and, at least theoretically, makes a person of more use to herself and to society at large. It’s not as if the $1.2 trillion in debt was amassed through drug use or maxing out credit cards. He even offers up alternative realities to the choice he eventually made. He could have continued working at The Wild Pair, where he had held a stable job between dropping out of a state college because he “thought he deserved better” and enrolling at Columbia University. Or he could have gone into finance and lived a life of “self-disgust and unhappiness.”  He sets up what amounts to a zero-sum game. Either you sell your soul to repay your student loans, or you default and live a life of happiness and professional fulfillment.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumcollegegraduates%20%28Leslie%20Byk%20Flickr%29_1.jpg" style="height:400px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Who, when presented with these alternatives, wouldn’t choose the latter? But when you press on a little further, the outcomes of this decision seem slightly less appealing. Siegel does not deny that defaulting on loans will negatively impact a person’s credit and opportunities, and he offers three easy steps: 1) get as many credit cards as you possibly can before you ruin your credit; 2) find a stable housing situation and pay your rent on time; and 3), live with or marry someone with good credit. Someone, it would follow, who repayed his or her student loans. And then, he says, do not be afraid because “the reliably predatory nature of American life guarantees that there will always be somebody to help you, from credit card companies charging stratospheric rates to subprime loans for houses and cars. Our economic system,” he continues, “ensures that so long as you are willing to sink deeper and deeper into debt, you will keep being enthusiastically invited to play the economic game.” So, he argues, the same predatory lending that got you into debt in the first place is exactly the structure that will allow you to continue to survive, if not thrive, economically once you default. For many people, this sort of irresponsibility and uncertainty can be a little much to swallow. But worry not. As long as enough people default, Siegel says, the government will have to respond by guaranteeing an education rather than by guaranteeing <a name="_GoBack" id="_GoBack"></a>student loans.</p> <p> </p> <p>Jordan Weissman, of <em>Slate</em>, offers a <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2015/06/08/lee_siegel_new_york_times_op_ed_is_this_the_worst_op_ed_ever_written_about.html">response</a>. He places Siegel’s piece in context. In the months preceding the publication of Siegel’s article, almost 200 students from Corinthian Colleges <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/corinthian-colleges-closing-student-debt-strike-reaches-190-while-lawmakers-consider-1954171">launched a debt strike</a> during which they refused to repay the money they borrowed while attending the for-profit education chain. Corinthian Colleges, Inc. was a specific case, however. Corinthian was investigated, and eventually shuttered, for defrauding its students by providing misinformation regarding its job placement and graduation rates, and the federal loans held by students who attended the schools were forgiven.</p> <p> </p> <p>Siegel, on the other hand, did not fall victim to a predatory lending scheme. Instead, he took out loans and accepted scholarships that led him to eventually earn a B.A., an M.A., and a master’s of philosophy from Columbia University. He graduated before our current student loan crisis really began and most certainly owes more than the average $29,000 to the government, even without taking into consideration the interest that has likely tripled or quadrupled his debt load. And all this because he (erroneously) believed that he required three degrees from one of the most expensive universities in the country in order to pursue his dream to be a professional writer.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/1columbiauniversity.jpg" style="height:371px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Siegel’s biggest offense here, according to Weissman, is that throughout his column Siegel doles out “criminally negligent financial advice.” The reality of defaulting, Weissman argues, is much worse than Siegel lets on. The fact of the matter is that since student loans are federally owned, if a person defaults on those loans the government can <a href="http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/collections/government-collection-tools/admin-wage-garnishments/">garnish up to 15 percent</a> of the borrower’s disposable wages directly from their paycheck until the loan is repayed. Alternatively, the newest income-based repayment plan offered by the government requires a borrower to repay only 10 percent of wages.</p> <p> </p> <p>It is certainly true that higher education in the United States is prohibitively expensive, and that $1.2 trillion in student loans is a scarily high number. There are a lot of people struggling under the burden of high loans with high interest rates, people who are working jobs that they don’t love in order to repay those loans, families that are placed under high levels of stress by that loan bill that keeps coming month after month. But how about all the people who have taken advantage of income-based repayment in order to simultaneously repay their loans and pursue careers that they love, careers that don’t pay as well as the lucrative ones that can, according to Siegel, lead to “self-disgust and lifelong unhappiness.” There is no great answer here. The repayment of loans, especially once you factor in graduate and doctoral programs, can seem an insurmountable obstacle. The interest rates assure that repayment happens slowly. But the alternative – ruined credit, reliance on loved ones for housing and transportation, garnishing of wages – seems worse.</p> <p> </p> <p>Shuttering schools that are predatory lenders, institutions that take advantage of young people and army veterans, is a good first step. But imagine what would happen if we all followed Siegel’s advice and defaulted. Imagine if $1.2 trillion just went unpaid, just disappeared. Where would we be then? There needs to be a complete overhaul in the way we value and finance traditional education, but a mass default is most certainly not the answer. That wouldn’t end well for any of us, not even for Lee Siegel.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p><strong>Rebekah Frank is a contributing writer at <em>Highbrow Magazine.</em></strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/student-loans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">student loans</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/student-debt" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">student debt</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/college" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">college</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/university" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">university</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/attending-college" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">attending college</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/defaulting-debt" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">defaulting on debt</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/finding-jobs" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">finding jobs</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/job-market" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">job market</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/colleg-students" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">colleg students</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Rebekah Frank</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Flick; Google Images</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Sun, 01 Nov 2015 20:00:42 +0000 tara 6448 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/5434-student-loans-crisis-default-or-pay#comments Congress Stands By as Number of Jobless Americans Grows https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3881-congress-stands-number-jobless-americans-grows <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Fri, 04/04/2014 - 11:11</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/employment_2.jpg?itok=ndD8S5fD"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/employment_2.jpg?itok=ndD8S5fD" width="434" height="323" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>From <a href="http://www.theroot.com/articles/politics/2014/04/ukraine_is_a_priority_over_jobless_americans.html">The Root</a> and reprinted by our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/04/congress-to-unemployed-maybe-you-should-move-to-the-ukraine.php">New America Media</a>:</p> <p> </p> <p>Fewer than 30 days after masked Russian troops rolled their way into the Ukraine under false pretenses, the U.S. Congress moved with lightning quickness to pass a $1 billion aid package for the troubled Eastern European country. Members on both sides of the partisan aisle, while a little shaky on the details, agree that it won’t be the last of the money. Hoping to save geopolitical face in the wake of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s masterful jump shot over international law, the U.S. is promising a fresh wave of economic and military support to tip regional scales back its way.</p> <p> </p> <p>Back home and more than three full months later, more than 2.2 million Americans are barely getting by after most of their extended unemployment benefits were abruptly cut over the Christmas break. In fact, Congress and the president skipped town for restful, holiday vacations soon after. Hopes of a post-New Year’s Day resolution were dashed by stalls and foot-dragging in the Senate, which is finally taking a vote this week. But, a nastier, unsympathetic House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is signaling that he’s not interested in bringing it to the floor for a vote. The $9.6 billion needed to restart the program, including retroactive benefits for those who’ve lost out, is simply too much of a burden on the federal deficit and state unemployment insurance agencies.</p> <p> </p> <p>“We have always said that we’re willing to look at extending emergency unemployment benefits again, if Democrats can come up with a plan that is fiscally responsible, and gets to the root of the problem by helping to create more private-sector jobs,” complained Boehner earlier on this month. “Frankly, a better use of the Senate’s time would be taking up and passing the dozens of House-passed jobs bills still awaiting action.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Translated: It’s not passing anytime soon, which not only means steady increases in the number of Americans without benefits but also governing malfeasance shaking the very foundation of unemployment insurance as we know it.</p> <p> </p> <p>The bolt of legislative energy needed to keep a distant nation of 50 million (Ukraine) from defaulting on its debt was there. But ask lawmakers to apply a similar sense of urgency to the plight of 50 million Americans living below the poverty line and you get assorted reasons not to. It’s not only 2.2 million jobless Americans—that’s just the tip of a growing poverty infection eating away at the nation’s social fabric. Complimenting an insanity of detachment is the steady musical of racial dog whistles in which the destitute are either wholly blamed for their circumstances or the uninsured are viewed as “illiterate” and “less sophisticated.”</p> <p> </p> <p>A larger point here is how little of a priority the poor and jobless are to Congress. The American people were not clamoring about the steps of Capitol Hill begging legislators for a Ukrainian aid package. Only 27 percent, according to a YouGov poll supported economic aid to Ukraine. Yet, even a Fox News poll showed that 69 percent of Amerians support the notion of unemployment insurance for at least one year. Another YouGov poll showed 62 percent supporting renewal of jobless benefits (although the fact that anywhere from 30 percent to 40 percent don’t seem to care is worrisome).</p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/1blackemployment_0.jpg" style="height:365px; width:650px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>But, ultimately, it’s about who holds enough influence and clout in Washington to determine which way the policy wind blows. Jobless Americans seeking an end to legislative impasse just don’t have the $1 million to drop on Capitol Hill lobbyists—like the Ukrainians did just last year as partisan conflict in Kiev bubbled. Less than 1 percent of the 12,000 or more groups peddling interests in Washington actually lobby for the poor. And when it comes to the bottom 98 percent, they barely made enough political contributions to match the wealthiest campaign donor throughout the entire election cycle. As political scientist Larry Bartels puts it in his recent book <em>Unequal Democracy</em>, “[the poor have] no discernible impact on the behavior of their elected representatives.”</p> <p> </p> <p>And it doesn’t help that lazy, one-track-minded news producers obsessed with events 5,000 miles away only give—at best—footnote coverage to the ongoing crisis of jobless Americans right in their own back yard. After Ukraine, it’s been the Malaysian Airlines mystery chewing up more time in the network and cable ratings war, with news about the fight over unemployment insurance perhaps a mention in the screen ticker.</p> <p> </p> <p>Sure, these are important geopolitical happenings, which deserve our attention. But elected officials are making a risky gamble with social instability and havoc when they decide to tune out their struggling constituents.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p><em>Charles D. Ellison is a veteran political strategist and frequent contributor to The Root. He is also Washington correspondent for the Philadelphia Tribune and chief political correspondent for Uptown magazine. </em></p> <p> </p> <p>From <a href="http://www.theroot.com/articles/politics/2014/04/ukraine_is_a_priority_over_jobless_americans.html">The Root</a> and reprinted by our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/04/congress-to-unemployed-maybe-you-should-move-to-the-ukraine.php">New America Media</a></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/john-boehner" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">john boehner</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/obama" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Obama</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/jobs" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">jobs</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/unemployed" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">unemployed</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/unemployment" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">unemployment</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/jobless" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">jobless</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/finding-jobs" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">finding jobs</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/jobless-benefirts" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">jobless benefirts</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/unemployment-benefits" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">unemployment benefits</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/ukraine" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">ukraine</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/putin" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Putin</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Charles D. Ellison</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Wikipedia Commons; New America Media</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Fri, 04 Apr 2014 15:11:58 +0000 tara 4543 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3881-congress-stands-number-jobless-americans-grows#comments The Current Unemployment Crisis Facing Minority Youths https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3469-current-unemployment-crisis-facing-minority-youths <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Wed, 01/22/2014 - 09:35</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2blackemployment%20Colorlines%29.jpg?itok=DH0y2OfO"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2blackemployment%20Colorlines%29.jpg?itok=DH0y2OfO" width="480" height="320" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>From <a href="http://colorlines.com/archives/2014/01/youth_unemployment.html">Colorlines</a> and our content partner New America Media:</p> <p> </p> <p>As the White House prepares to launch a major economic opportunity effort, record high unemployment among black and Latino youth underscores how essential it is to create job opportunities for young people of color.</p> <p> </p> <p>The critical issue here is that the ages of 16 to 24 are make or break years for lifelong earning potential. With one out four blacks and one out of six Latinos under the age of 25 without work, a generation of youth of color risks falling behind.</p> <p> </p> <p>The situation for black and Latino unemployed youths is so alarming that leading think tanks and economists are raising red flags about it at a staggering pace. One report on the topic by Demos, the public policy organization, argues that the “exclusion of young people of color” from job opportunities “weakens the promise of America.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Why’s that?</p> <p> </p> <p>With wealth in African-American and Latino communities already the lowest on record, a loss of income on a generational scale would likely harden existing inequities and set back economic progress in the country for decades. That’s because there are simply so many young blacks and Latinos who want work but can’t find it.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>The Older Worker Squeeze</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>The jumpoff for understanding what’s going on is that the youth jobs market as a whole, like the broader labor market, is in shambles.</p> <p> </p> <p>With one out six young people without work, youth unemployment is higher than at any point since most people under the age of 25 have been alive. Close to half of the 4 million young people without work are African-American or Latino. They are joined by another 6 million young people of all racial backgrounds who have given up looking for work out of frustration.</p> <p> </p> <p>The core economic issue here is that younger Americans are being squeezed out of the labor market because there aren’t enough jobs to go around for both existing workers and those just entering the job market.</p> <p> </p> <p>As <em>The Wall Street Journal</em> points out, the economy is down 8 million jobs from where it needs to be in order to make sure that everyone who wants a job has one. With so many jobs destroyed by the Great Recession, and with only mostly lower-wage jobs being created, older, better educated workers are being pushed into areas of employment traditionally occupied by younger workers.</p> <p> </p> <p>Analysis by the Center for Economic and Policy Research shows that the proportion of 16- to 19-year-olds in low-wage work fell by 50 percent from 1979 to 2011 while workers aged 35 to 64 increased their share of these jobs. Moreover, the proportion of those in low-wage positions who attended college almost doubled.</p> <p> </p> <p>As Sarah Ayres of the Center for American Progress points out, “With three job seekers for every available job, employers can hire people at an education level above what’s required for the actual position.” This trend benefits older workers.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>The School-to-Prison Pipeline</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>But there are two additional challenges that magnify black and Latino youth joblessness.</p> <p> </p> <p>The first is that lower college graduation rates for youth of color puts African-Americans and Latinos at a severe disadvantage. As more workers with higher education compete for jobs that were once dominated by high school graduates, the hill for people of color becomes steeper. That’s because a third less blacks and half as many Latinos have college degrees as whites. But there’s more at work here.</p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/1blackemployment.jpg" /></p> <p>Disproportionate school discipline directed at blacks and Latinos is a driving force behind lower education attainment rates for these two groups, further damaging lifelong earning potential.</p> <p> </p> <p>Though students from these communities make up less than four out of 10 of kids in school, they make up seven out of 10 of children “involved in school-related arrests or referrals to law enforcement.” As the Advancement Project points out, students who’ve been suspended are up to five times more likely to not finish high school [PDF]. Given the condition of the labor market, the lack of a high school diploma is simply a non-starter.</p> <p> </p> <p>The second is the way that higher incarceration rates damage the job prospects of youth of color. With six out of 10 individuals in prison black or Latino, over 300,000 people of color are released from incarceration each year. As Colorlines editorial director Kai Wright pointed out in a recent article, almost all employers perform a background check on job applicants, even those for low-wage positions. Astoundingly, 90 percent of all African-Americans with criminal records are passed over for employment. That’s a rate three times higher than whites with a similar history. Skewed incarceration is</p> <p>another headwind that youth of color face in the job market.</p> <p> </p> <p>The reason that any of this matters is that youth unemployment means lower incomes and fewer life opportunities for those without work. Since employment between the ages of 16 to 24 is vital to setting the pace for an individuals’ future earning power, joblessness experienced by young people has severe consequences. Just six months of unemployment can mean $45,000 in lower wages. It can take up to a decade to make up lost ground. The longer unemployment lasts, the larger the long-term earnings hole grows. Young people 20 to 24 will lose $20 billion over the next decade in lost wages. Writ large this translates into an amount that will be difficult for black and Latino communities, still reeling from the recession, to absorb.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Turning It Around</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>The good news is that youth unemployment is entirely fixable. The most important thing is to jumpstart overall job growth and get the economy functioning normally again.</p> <p> </p> <p>Consequently raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, lowering the wage gap between men and women, and expanding tax breaks for low-income workers—including those without children—would be great places to start. Together these programs would raise the incomes of tens of millions and lift millions more out of poverty. A shot in the arm to the economy on such a scale would help push the labor to function more normally, allow older workers to move up the earnings scale, and clear the way for young people.</p> <p> </p> <p>But an even more targeted effort to end black and Latino youth unemployment is desperately needed. As Tom Allison, policy analyst at the under-34 advocacy group Young Invicibles puts it, “If the goal is to improve the economy, we have to focus on those who are suffering the most.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Breaking the school-to-prison pipeline, structuring a way for more people of color to attend college, lowering incarceration rates, and ending employment discrimination for nonviolent offenders are all essential.</p> <p> </p> <p>With an entire generation of black and Latino youth hanging in the balance, the country doesn’t have a second to waste.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://colorlines.com/archives/2014/01/youth_unemployment.html">Colorlines</a></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/minorities" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">minorities</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/minority-youths" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">minority youths</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/unemployment" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">unemployment</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/job-market" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">job market</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/finding-jobs" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">finding jobs</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/out-work" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">out of work</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/economy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">economy</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/creating-jobs" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">creating jobs</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Imara Jones</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Colorlines</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Wed, 22 Jan 2014 14:35:45 +0000 tara 4167 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3469-current-unemployment-crisis-facing-minority-youths#comments Note to Congress: Raise the Minimum Wage https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3414-note-congress-raise-minimum-wage <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 01/06/2014 - 10:11</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1wage.jpg?itok=ZRDnnm9V"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1wage.jpg?itok=ZRDnnm9V" width="480" height="268" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/01/myth-of-minimum-wage-as-job-killer-persists.php">New America Media</a>:</p> <p> </p> <p>The GOP has ruthlessly sold the outlandish myth to millions that a hike in the minimum wage is a huge job killer. It has been so effective in its hard sell that President Obama and Congressional Democrats have repeatedly been stymied and frustrated in every effort they’ve made to boost the minimum wage nationally. And almost certainly, Obama in his State of the Union Address later this month will again demand that Congress, meaning House and Senate Republicans, immediately raise the minimum wage.</p> <p> </p> <p>Some states have hiked the old, archaic, and pitifully low standard minimum wage from $7.25 to a double digit figure that faintly resembles a living wage. The current federal minimum wage amounts to slightly more than $15,000 in annual income. That’s not even close to the amount needed to keep a family of four out of the soup lines. You’d have to go back more than four decades, to 1968, to find the last year that the minimum wage actually kept pace with inflation for workers.</p> <p> </p> <p>House Speaker John Boehner in a pithy, horribly simplistic, but effectual retort to the cry for a minimum wage increase, said, “When you raise the price of employment, you get less of it.” Boehner and Congressional Republicans cherry-pick a few dated studies and some anecdotal employment figures in some low-wage, low unemployment states such as North Dakota to make the case that the minimum wage hurts the economy. At first glance, that seems compelling enough. But it ignores other low-wage states that have boosted the minimum wage and where there’s been no plunge in employment, or wholesale flight of employers from those states to low-wage states that won’t boost their minimum wage a penny higher than the federal minimum wage.</p> <p> </p> <p>Boehner also ignores recent studies that found that states that have boosted their minimum wage have not had a plunge in hiring. It doesn’t take a course in Economics 101 to figure out that employers increase production and sales when there’s demand. Demand increases when workers have enough cash in their pockets to buy more goods and services. It also doesn’t take a seat in the same Econ class to know that lower job turnover boosts productivity and reduces business costs. This adds tens of billions more to the economy which translates to job growth.</p> <p> </p> <p>So studies overwhelmingly back up a huge bump up to the economy from a decent minimum wage. Polls show that the overwhelming majority of Americans support a minimum wage hike, and that includes a significant number of Republicans. Yet, the GOP despite its unpopular, bogus argument against a minimum wage increase has still managed to get its way.</p> <p> </p> <p>It comes down to two things. One is the millions that buy the notion that a minimum wage hike is a bad thing. This belief is based in part on blind adherence to Republican dogma, in part on kneejerk opposition to anything that Obama and the Democrats propose, just as reflexive knee-jerk opposition to labor unions that have traditionally been in the forefront of the fight for a minimum wage hikes, as well as the legitimate fear that business owners will simply pass along any wage increase to consumers by boosting prices on goods.</p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2wage%20%28the%20all%20nite%20images%20Flickr%29.jpg" style="height:450px; width:600px" /></p> <p>The other reason for formidable resistance to a minimum wage boost is the perception of whom the boost will help. They are the poor. When the minimum wage is fixated as a sop to the poor, even the working poor, the issue gets muddled, and becomes a political flash point issue. With few exceptions, in years past, talk of poverty was not just missing from the nation’s political plate, but was a dirty word. The existence of millions of poor in America flew in the face of the embedded laissez faire notion that the poor aren't poor because of the hyper concentration of wealth, or worse, any failing of the system, but because of their personal failings. Surveys bore this out. Even many among the poor were as apt as many of those in the middle-class, and the well-to-do, to self-debase themselves for their poverty. They blame it on their misfortune, bad luck, lack of education and skills, or alcohol, and drug problems. These are certainly reasons why some fall into poverty or remain chronically poor. They, however, are at best peripheral to the real cause of the poverty rise, and that's the control by a relatively handful of the bulk of the nation's income, resources and productive wealth.</p> <p> </p> <p>A minimum wage increase would in very limited part redress the grotesque income inequality between rich and poor. And it’s that fear of big and small business and the rich that GOP is the designated mouthpiece for that insures it will dig its heels in and continue to wage a furious fight against Obama’s call for a minimum wage increase. That means continuing to peddle hard the myth that it’s a job killer.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p><em>Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. He is a frequent MSNBC contributor. He is an associate editor of New America Media. He is a weekly co-host of the Al Sharpton Show on American Urban Radio Network. He is the host of the weekly Hutchinson Report on KTYM 1460 AM Radio Los Angeles and KPFK-Radio and the Pacifica Network. </em></p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/01/myth-of-minimum-wage-as-job-killer-persists.php">New America Media</a></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/minimum-wage" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">minimum wage</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/congress" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">congress</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/obama" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Obama</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/living-wage" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">living wage</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/unemployment" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">unemployment</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/finding-jobs" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">finding jobs</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/job-market" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">job market</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/poverty" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">poverty</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/jobs" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">jobs</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Earl Ofari Hutchinson </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New America Media; all nite images (Flickr)</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Mon, 06 Jan 2014 15:11:41 +0000 tara 4063 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3414-note-congress-raise-minimum-wage#comments Spain’s Wandering Lost Generation https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3352-spain-s-wandering-lost-generation <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Thu, 12/12/2013 - 07:38</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1spain%20%28Cuellar%20Flickr%29.jpg?itok=Arf8ibKA"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1spain%20%28Cuellar%20Flickr%29.jpg?itok=Arf8ibKA" width="480" height="319" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>This coming New Year will mark an important moment for Spain, as it will take a major step toward moving past years of economic and political turmoil that all began when the banking system collapsed. In the third quarter Spain successfully surfaced from two years of recession, and with signs of GDP growth Spain announced that it would be exiting out of the €100 billion rescue package for its banks that it accepted in 2012.</p> <p> </p> <p>In fact, Spain will be exiting out of the bailout with only having used €41 billion of available loans. Moreover Spain declined a safety net from the European Stability Mechanism, which would have provided a precautionary reserve rescue line for any further support Spain might require.  With positive signs in the export sector of the economy, and the government confident about its fiscal future, the Eurozone’s fourth-largest economy might finally have found sustained means of getting back on track. <em>The Telegraph</em> <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/10450994/Spain-to-exit-bank-bailout-without-credit-line.html">reported</a> that the “EU Economy and Euro Commissioner Olli Rehn told a press conference […] that the Spanish financial market had stabilized, liquidity of banks had improved and deposits were rising.” This is progress for a country that has encountered so much economic turmoil. Now Spain needs to build on its economic success and work on the most glaring issue that has marked this hardship.</p> <p> </p> <p>The domestic employment outlook remains just as frustrating as close to six million Spaniards are unemployed, with a startling 56.1 percent youth unemployment rate. The youth unemployment rate in Spain is twice what it is in the rest of the Eurozone, and with such little prospects in their home country, most are choosing to leave. In the first few years of the Spanish crisis most of the unemployed had chosen to remain in Spain and relied on two-year redundancy packages to survive.</p> <p> </p> <p>However many of the payments from the redundancy packages have ended with little luck of the unemployed actually finding any work if they remained in their home country. As the <em>Guardian</em> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/aug/30/spain-youth-unemployment-record-high">stated</a>, “unemployment is so entrenched that there was no political reaction to the latest figures, neither from government nor the opposition. Indeed, mentioning the economy at all has become virtually taboo across the political spectrum. Meanwhile, Spaniards and recent immigrants are deserting the country in search of work [.]”</p> <p> </p> <p>Spanish youths are leaving in great numbers with a majority choosing one specific location above all, the United Kingdom. Of course Spanish youths looking for work have taken many options into consideration. Latin America is a popular destination, especially considering the language benefits associated with going to another Spanish-speaking country. There are many opportunities in Germany and much of northern Europe that have economies hiring qualified people. Australia also just set up a work visa program to increase the amount of Spanish natives seeking work.</p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2spain%20%28Two%20Steps%20Beyond%20Flickr%29.jpg" style="height:433px; width:650px" /></p> <p>Despite the other options, the United Kingdom has remained the most popular destination. In fact, <em>The Telegraph</em> <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/state-of-europe/10134803/The-new-Spanish-armada-is-on-its-way.html">reported</a> that, “the number of officially registered Spanish residents in the UK jumped from 57,350 at the end of 2009 to 73,659 by the end of 2012, although the real number is estimated to be 150,000.” Moreover, <a href="http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/VE-SWAPPED-SPANISH-SUN-SOUTHVILLE/story-20109545-detail/story.html">recent figures</a> from late November show that Spaniards registering for a National Insurance number in the UK jumped 50 percent year over year. The vast mass of these young economic refugees are highly educated, overly qualified and working menial jobs in the UK just to survive. The demographics show that the majority of these Spanish emigrants have at least a Bachelors degree, with many holding higher degrees in law, accounting, engineering, etc. The uptick of Spaniards in the UK is noticeable beyond the big cities with the unemployed searching out work wherever they can find it.</p> <p>                                                                                                                                     </p> <p>The stories of many of these young Spanish youths follow a similar pattern. <em>The Bristol Post</em>, a local newspaper in England <a href="http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/VE-SWAPPED-SPANISH-SUN-SOUTHVILLE/story-20109545-detail/story.html">published a Bio</a> of a 27-year-old from Albacete named Carlos who despite an economics degree is working in construction in Keynsham, England. “Carlos said he moved here this year with a view to learning English and eventually using his skills in economics to find a job which suits him best. […] But for the meantime he gratefully works in construction, building Keynsham's new police station.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Stories like this have become commonplace in England. <em>The Telegraph</em> wrote about Pilar Mártinez who has a law degree but works as a waitress in southeast London. Pilar and Carlos moved to the United Kingdom because the minimum wage is highest among available options, and the opportunity to learn English (coupled with the academic accomplishments that they have already achieved) opens up a great deal of career opportunities in the long run. English being a core language for business and much of international affairs is a great asset that will only work to benefit the Spanish immigrant workers, and even more so benefit the UK as a whole.</p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/3spain%20%28Gilus%20PL%20FLickr%29.jpg" style="height:444px; width:650px" /></p> <p>This massive group, especially if they choose to stay in their new environments, can have a massive economic effect on the United Kingdom. The Spanish unemployed youths who left for the UK cannot be considered underqualified, nor are they lacking in talent.</p> <p> </p> <p>Over the course of the next decade Carlos and Pilar can very well find jobs that suit their education levels; and along with the thousands of Spanish economic refugees bring to the United Kingdom human capital and a knowledge curve that can create a far-reaching competitive workforce beyond that of other contending countries.</p> <p> </p> <p>NBC <a href="http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/08/25/20022234-our-generation-is-a-lost-cause-spains-youth-struggle-to-chart-a-life-amid-economic-crisis">explained</a> how, “‘Spain is losing many valuable people with brains, with a lot to do and offer,’ said Laura Belenguer Ortiz-Villajos, a 27-year-old job-seeker and Master’s student in radio. ‘People of my generation need to put into practice what is in their heads, and in Spain this is very hard to do.’”</p> <p> </p> <p>As Spain undergoes a brain drain due to their inability to provide jobs, the UK, as well as the rest of the world, stands to benefit from the abilities of the millions of young educated Spanish citizens willing to relocate for work. A strong prediction can be made that a decade from now, these immigrant workers, who consider themselves part of a “Lost Generation” in Spain, will be thriving in their new countries, and unfortunately this will be at the expense of their Spanish homeland.</p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/1EUflag%20%28Dimnikolov%20Flickr%29.jpg" style="height:488px; width:650px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p><em>Alexander Ostrovsky is a contributing writer at</em> Highbrow Magazine.</p> <p> </p> <p><em><strong>Photos: Ceullar (Flickr); Two Steps Beyond (Flickr); Gilus PL (Flickr); Dimnikolov (Flickr).</strong></em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/spain" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Spain</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/european-union" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">European Union</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/spaniards" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">spaniards</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/unemployment-europe" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">unemployment in europe</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/european-economy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">european economy</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/johless" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">johless</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/jobless-rate" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">jobless rate</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/united-kingdom" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">united kingdom</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/finding-jobs" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">finding jobs</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/eruopeans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">eruopeans</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Alexander Ostrovsky</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Thu, 12 Dec 2013 12:38:24 +0000 tara 3948 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3352-spain-s-wandering-lost-generation#comments Higher Education Doesn’t Always Translate into Better Jobs for Black Men https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3181-higher-education-doesn-t-always-translate-better-jobs-black-men <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 11/11/2013 - 09:31</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1blackemployment.jpg?itok=iEpnaFaa"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1blackemployment.jpg?itok=iEpnaFaa" width="480" height="270" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p> From the <a href="http://www.thenorthstarnews.com/fullstory/story/report-higher-education-and-maturity-are-not-paying-off-for-black-men-">NorthStar News</a> and our content partner, <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2013/11/higher-ed-not-paying-off-for-black-men-in-the-job-market.php">New America Media</a>:</p> <p>  </p> <p> Although more black men have graduated from high school and college, their educational achievements have not increased their access to good-paying jobs with health and retirement benefits, according to a report issued by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Economic and Policy Research.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The report also throws cold water on the unchallenged belief in the black community that all you need is a good education to get a good job. In addition, the study challenges the accepted belief that black men are not attending or graduating from college.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Center officials wrote in a report, titled "Has Education Paid Off for Black Workers?" that good-paying jobs have eluded black men because of continuing racial discrimination in the job market and other factors.</p> <p>  </p> <p> "Over the last many decades, black workers have made significant --- and often overlooked --- investments in education. Nevertheless, black workers have little to show for these investments," the report said. "A lack of human capital does not appear to be causing the difficulties black workers face in the labor market. The factors that lie behind the poor outcomes for black workers include ongoing labor-market discrimination but also the same long-term, policy–driven deterioration in bargaining power experienced by low- and middle-wage workers in general."</p> <p>  </p> <p> The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for black men is always higher than any other racial or ethnic group. In September, the jobless rate for black men was 14 percent, up from 13.5 percent in August, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Center officials defined a "good job" as one that pays at least $19 per hour or at least $40,000 annually. The employer also has to provide health insurance and a retirement plan.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumblackbusinessman_0.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 335px;" /></p> <p>  </p> <p> The study noted the dramatic improvement in black men's educational achievement. In 1979, 72.6 percent of African-American men had only a high school education. Over the last three decades, the share of black men with a four-year college degree nearly tripled from 8.1 percent in 1979 to 23.4 percent in 2011. This compares with the share of black women with a four-year college degree, which more than doubled from 12.9 percent in 1979 to 28.5 percent in 2011.</p> <p>  </p> <p> "Although there were large improvements in educational attainment for both black women and black men, only black women experienced a payoff in the form of a greater likelihood of being in a good job," the report stated. "The share of black women in a good job increased from 14.5 percent in 1979 to 18.4 percent in 2011. At the same time, the share of black men in a good job decreased from 26.4 percent to 20.9 percent over the same period."</p> <p>  </p> <p> The study also noted that the black workforce is older and more experienced. In 1979, the median age of an employed black worker was 33 years old, and today the median age is 39.</p> <p>  </p> <p> "Economists expect that increases in education and work experience will increase workers' productivity and translate into higher compensation. However, the dramatic increase in educational attainment of black workers, coupled with a large increase in the median age has coincided with a drop in the share of black workers holding a good job," the report said.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <a href="http://www.thenorthstarnews.com/fullstory/story/report-higher-education-and-maturity-are-not-paying-off-for-black-men-">NorthStar News</a></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/black-workforce" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">black workforce</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/unemployment" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">unemployment</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/african-american-workers" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">african american workers</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/discrimination" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">discrimination</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/racism-workplace" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">racism in the workplace</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/finding-jobs" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">finding jobs</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/unemployed-blacks" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">unemployed blacks</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Frederick Lowe</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New America Media</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Mon, 11 Nov 2013 14:31:35 +0000 tara 3831 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3181-higher-education-doesn-t-always-translate-better-jobs-black-men#comments