"Rise of the Educated Poor in the Republic"

If nearly 3 in10 adults that have completed post-secondary education are living below the poverty line, does this mean the protective benefits of education are diminishing? The rise of the educated and impoverished in America should be cause for great concern for every man, woman, and child, but is it?

Why do adults with post-secondary education make up such a large and growing proportion of the poor population? Well, in part, because the educational composition of the overall population is changing: In essence, a more highly educated poor population reflects the trend towards a more highly educated population in general. From 1981 to 1992, there was a rapid increase in the total number of working-age adults with PSE rising from 3.6 million to 6.8 million. As a result, 40% of the working-age population achieved some form of post-secondary qualification. Even without an increase in the poverty rate, the number of educated poor would have increased substantially because of this changing composition. Additionally, part of the increase in the number of poor working-age adults with post-secondary credentials is the result of an increasing poverty rate among this highly educated group, which climbed from 7% in 1981 to 21% in 2009.

It is surprising that more than 800,000 working-age adults with post-secondary education are--in fact--poor. It challenges our common fundamental belief system about the benefits of higher education. Indeed, we are left to inquire, how could anyone with a post-secondary education be impoverished?

In 2000 for example, 22% of poor working-age adults had obtained a post secondary degree. There was a debate about whether these students were "in fact, poor." Critics argued that students were "not really poor" because their poverty is "temporary"; they often receive some parental support, and many share living expenses with other students. True, some students fit this criterion; many, however, do not. Among those with a post-secondary education who were "impoverished students," 1 in 4 (25%) was between the ages of 35 and 64, and 1 in 5 (22%) had dependent children.

Among poor educated adults who were employed between 2000-2009, the most common occupations were in personal services, food and beverage preparation and other services (17%); clerical occupations (14%); and sales (11%)--this employment sector is beset by high levels of part-time employment, temporary work, and minimum wage. This is also true at the doctoral level--where there are more than 5,000 janitors in the U.S. with Ph.D.’s.

Conversely, contrary to popular belief, it is becoming increasingly clear that earning a Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree or a Ph.D. does not guarantee a job, let alone one with good pay. As elected officials continue to focus their attention on tax breaks for the wealthy, repealing health care and fear mongering, they have moved further away from ending unemployment and poverty in the Republic, and it would do them well to consider the following question which a growing number of citizens both adult and youth are beginning to ask: “What is the use of further training and higher education if there are too few good paying employment opportunities available?”


“Progressives will bring balance to the Republic.”
Anthony P. Johnson

"Murderer’s Row" of Fear Mongers

I'll give the Tea/Republican Party this--they sure know how to attempt to scare Americans. Isaac Asimov once said violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, and we witnessed that in Tucson. I like to add--"Invoking fear in a society is the last ditch effort of the buffoon."

On the night of January 25, 2011, citizens witnessed a "Murderer’s Row" of fear mongers, as Paul Ryan and Michelle Bachmann took their rhetoric to new heights. And not to be outdone, Sara "WTF" Palin provided her pointless assessment to the fold.

I keep waiting for a Republican elected official to step forward and be an effective leader in the Republic. I keep waiting to hear them say that “I am a Republican, but I do not support this behavior of many of my colleagues.” But alas, none have come forward. They all continue to drink from the cup of "I don't have an effective plan to repair America so I'll instill "McCarthyism" upon the nation."

There are some Democrats and Progressives that gleefully say that Bachmann and Palin should seek the White House in 2012. This would provide comedians and news outlets with endless material which to poke fun at due to their overwhelming lack of basic American History and domestic policy.

I, on the other hand, hope they do not seek the Presidency.

Like Limbaugh and Beck, every time we parade Bachmann and Palin, these mindless, fact less group of people on stage brings international shame and embarrassment to the Republic. And to think these individuals believe that the Framers of the Constitution would support their belief system is misguided--horribly misguided. Jefferson, Hancock, Washington, Franklin, and Patterson just to name a few would not support their view. In fact, the Framers would probably say in reference to Ms. Bachmann, Ms. Palin, Beck and Limbaugh, and a host of uniformed elected officials who know little or no history of America, “This is why you shouldn’t drink your own urine.”

As for the supporters of Palin, Bachmann, Beck and Limbaugh, they are finding it difficult to accept the fact that despite their fame, fortune, and status, they must be removed from the headlines for the good of the Republic.

Unfortunately, as long as television and radio executives continue to move increasingly away from creating effective and thought-provoking programs addressing the social chaos in our society and finding solutions instead green lighting more shows focused on keeping the citizenry entertained 24 hours a day, we're stuck with their shtick for an undetermined amount time.

All the while, America's status continues to dissipate in the world as an intelligent and visionary nation.


"Progressives will bring balance to the Republic."
Anthony P. Johnson