Today's letters: Readers comment on the GOP and going 'upstream'
The regressive party
Looks like my former political party, the radicals in the GOP — the regressive party — is serious about regressing back to the Stone Ages. They misuse patriotism as a racist dog-whistle to appeal to the latent racism in brain-washable white citizens, non-citizens and the small sovereign nation crowd that their god gave this land to them.
I guess they think their god saw fit to damn near annihilate the true first inhabitants of these lands and install those fleeing Europe. I guess that is what Jesus would do. Jesus, who was nonwhite and non-Christian, would be an immigrant and would not be welcomed by these full-of-hate persons!
I used to, as a longtime federal official, swell with pride displaying the USA flag at my office building and my private office. Now I recoil in disgust as the flag now no longer unites all American citizens but is becoming a symbol of white radicalization and racism.
Choice Edwards, Clermont
We need to go ‘upstream’
For 33 years, my organization has been sounding the alarm about the declining fortunes of young adults. The words of the 1988 Forgotten Half report are eerie today: “One of the cruelest myths of contemporary American life is the claim that our economy is healthy because unemployment is relatively low.”
How did the Forgotten Half generation fare? A recent survey found that only 23% of Gen-Xers feel a sense of progress saving for retirement.
For today’s young people? The future is darker. In 1988, 61% of young adults (ages 15-24) were employed at a given time. In 2019, that number was 51%.
Then the pandemic happened.
The number of opportunity youths — young people disconnected from school and work — spiked to more than 10 million last year. Fewer than half of young adults are now employed.
The growth in college attendance was one bright spot since 1988. In that year, the average tuition for a four-year institution was $8,117 in today’s dollars. In 2018, the comparable cost was $28,123. The result of this 347% increase? An explosion of student loans.
In “Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen,” author Dan Heath defines going “upstream” as addressing issues before they worsen into crises. He describes an American tendency to throw costly patches at systemic problems rather than addressing root causes.
The situation of young adults today illustrates two mental pitfalls that Heath identifies. First, we assume that challenges are inevitable. Second, we believe that no one institution is responsible for addressing all of them.
One of Heath’s maxims is to begin by finding a point of leverage over a big problem. We have leverage: Surveys have shown time and again that opportunity youths want to work.
Heath explores the idea of reaching “functional zero” for homelessness among veterans: A slot in housing for each person now homeless, and enough staff and support to prevent people from becoming homeless in the future. Rockford, Illinois, has accomplished this feat by leaning on a list of the people who need help.
We could challenge cities and towns to achieve functional zero for youth disconnection. To achieve functional zero for disconnection would require a team of representatives from the school district, local institutions of higher education and job training, and social services to go through the list of all young people, each week, making a plan for reconnection.
If we can change the odds in a few communities, state and federal policymakers will take note.
Stephanie McGencey, executive director, American Youth Policy Forum
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This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: May 29, 2022, letters: Readers comment on the GOP and going 'upstream'
