Low-income children are screwed when it comes to getting a good education. New studies show that a quality education in America is now increasingly only available to the very rich. A study out of Stanford shows that the gap in standardized testing scores between rich students and low-income students has increased 40% since the 1960’s. And another study out of the University of Michigan shows that gap between rich and low-income students when it comes to college completion – which is the single biggest factor when it comes to succeeding in the economy – has grown 50% since the 1980’s.
As the New York Times reports, “The changes are tectonic, a result of social and economic processes unfolding over many decades.” Those social and economic processes are called Reagan, Clinton, and Bush-onomics. In the last 30 years, thanks to the Reagan Tax Cuts, Clinton’s attack on welfare and embrace of Free Trade, and Bush’s Great Depression – our economy only benefits the very rich.
And with public education budgets being slashed around the nation – and taxpayer dollars being diverted to for-profit schools – the one great equalizer in America – our education system is under attack.
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