Cantor: Kids in poverty a problem for all

Martin R. Cantor is director of the Long Island Center for Socio-Economic Policy and a former Suffolk County Economic Development commissioner.

Census data released this week revealing that more Americans are poor than at any time since 1993 should concern everyone, since poverty plays a corrosive role in efforts to sustain the national and local workforces.

Some 22 percent of America's children live in poverty now, with rates highest for blacks and Hispanics. It's been widely shown that poor children are less likely to graduate from high school and, in turn, unlikely to attend schools of higher education. This matters: The more education a child receives, the better equipped he or she will be with the critical thinking and decision making skills necessary to access the higher-paying jobs created by the global economy.

Studies have also shown that the more time a child spends living in poverty, the lower his or her IQ score and academic achievement. Exposure to the culture of poverty appears to have a hindering effect. The contemporary social fabric of so many poor communities includes single-parent families, many headed by divorced or young women, and parents with low educational attainment levels who are either unemployed or working in low-paying jobs. This is an environment where children may have no one at home to help with homework and where the lower levels of parental education may presage less education for their kids.

The new census figures reveal that minorities are experiencing the highest poverty rates, and there's a greater likelihood that black and Hispanic children will be poorer for a longer period of time than white children. This economic disparity is the primary driver behind the education gap among races.

These poverty and academic achievement relationships should concern Long Island economic and workforce developers. While poverty rates are lower here than nationwide (5.5 percent in Nassau and 5.7 percent in Suffolk), they are still significantly higher than they were 20 years ago. As the region ages and baby boomers retire or move, our region needs to replace these workers with a well-educated workforce that can compete in the global economy and sustain the local one.

Creating that future educated regional workforce begins with children, and those living in poverty are now becoming a larger part of our population. If these children don't graduate high school, it will be nearly impossible for them to fulfill their potential and become productive workers. Instead, they could wind up as unemployed, an economic drain on Long Island's future economy.

It's already starting to happen on Long Island and in New York State. In an analysis of Buffalo, the Albany area and Long Island, high schools with 80 percent graduation rates or less had higher poverty rates among students than high schools with graduation rates of 90 percent or more.

The federal No Child Left Behind law set a 90 percent high school graduation rate standard, but poverty is making it hard to achieve. And that's alarming. As the census data show, poor children are becoming a larger part of the population and many of them are just 10 years away -- or closer -- from taking their role in Long Island's workforce.

And while we look at these disturbing new statistics and instinctively react by saying we need to create jobs to help people out of poverty, we're only delaying the inevitable. The jobs being envisioned, such as construction jobs and government aids, are temporary and will disappear along with the government resources that funded them. They provide no permanent escape.

Climbing out of poverty requires a permanent, sustainable job, and to get one of those, most people must first graduate from high school -- and, preferably, go even further in their education. As former Labor Secretary Robert Reich has said, "While a college degree will not guarantee that one will earn more, without it, the chances are very slim." For the sake of a future thriving Long Island economy, we need to look beyond temporary jobs and take a longer view of the educational needs of our permanent workforce.