We cannot slash our way to prosperity.

Yet, in the face of ongoing joblessness and economic hardships for low-income Americans, the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform has put harsh cuts to domestic investments ahead of much-needed job growth strategies – a recipe for destabilizing a fragile economic recovery and putting true fiscal stability farther out of reach.

Poor people and people of color have been hit first and worst by the recession – and the cuts proposed by the co-chairs would only make things worse for them. The backs of America’s poor are nearly breaking — now is not the time to pile on more cuts.

Even as the co-chairs propose to push off retirement to age 69, they were silent on whether to extend a $700 billion tax giveaway for America’s wealthiest. Even as the co-chairs propose an arbitrary revenue cap on a growing, aging nation, they call for lower corporate taxes and eliminate critical tax credits that support equitable development in our communities.

Getting Americans back to work and growing our economy should be job number one. We must build tomorrow’s economic foundation today. To that end, there are some noteworthy suggestions in the report. Imposing a 15-cent gas tax increase could both reduce the deficit and improve and expand our crumbling transit systems. Trimming the bloated Department of Defense budget is also long overdue. The co-chairs also voiced welcome support for an infrastructure bank to help leverage private dollars to build truly 21st Century transit systems, electrical grids, and other infrastructure. It would have been nice to see more far-sighted investments like these in the report.

It is crucial that we balance economic growth with well-considered cuts and tax increases. We must tackle our long-term debt issues, but the short-term economic recovery must take precedence. With the right mix of smart investment and –when prudent — spending cuts, shared prosperity is just over the horizon, if we lift our eyes to see it.

Got ideas for ensuring America’s economic future? Share them in the comments.

Some very interesting results buried inside the Associated Press exit polls from last night. Digging deep, it’s clear that the electorate was very different from 2008.

Last night’s election doesn’t change the reality of America’s future. Without a focus on equity, the future is bleak — no matter who’s in office.

Even as we navigate a difficult political environment, we must remember that equity is crucial to our nation’s fortunes in the decades ahead.

To compete in the 21st century economy, we must create an America where all people are enlisted and empowered to push our economy forward.

Just as our physical infrastructure is crumbling, so, too, is our community infrastructure — the people and places that make America. We need investments in health and housing and education that strengthen all communities, especially the ones that have been left behind for decades.

Simply, equity is the superior growth model.

For the final week of the Race and America’s Future Virtual Book Club, we look at how to ensure growth is equitably felt in all communities. Today’s starter questions.

People of color will be the American majority by 2050. What would a truly equitable America look like in 2050?

How do we make that America a reality?

Thank you to the more than 5,000 people who have visited the book club over the past six weeks — and the hundreds who have shared their thoughtful perspectives on race and America’s future.

The hunger for this type of conversation was clear. If you want to help us figure out what’s next for this effort, please comment (with a valid email address) down below.

Thank you for participating,
Angela Glover Blackwell

We know that the challenges facing all Americans are often felt even more acutely in communities of color – from the obvious (immigration, education, incarceration) to the less obvious (metropolitan growth, climate change).

In our changing nation, these challenges may be different, deeper and more complex than the questions of overt discrimination that occupied attention in an earlier era.

For Week 4 of the Race and America’s Future Virtual Book Club, we look at some of the urgent challenges facing our communities. Today’s starter questions:

How do we better integrate immigrants equitably into the American economy and civic life?

How can communities of color work together to bring down the sky-high incarceration rate, especially among boys of color?

Where you live often has the biggest impact on your access to opportunity. How can we focus on the necessary work of improving entire regions without losing sight of the particular challenges facing low-income communities?

Thank you for joining the conversation today.

–Manuel Pastor

The national economic debate has focused on the divide between Main Street and Wall Street. But nobody seems to talk about the crisis on Martin Luther King Boulevard and Cesar Chavez Avenue.

Last week’s unemployment numbers show the depth of economic crisis in communities of color. The jobless rate among blacks is nearly double that among whites (16.1% versus 8.7%). More than one in four Latinos now live in poverty. The recession is not colorblind.

For Week 3 of the Race and America’s Future Virtual Book Club, we look at how race and the economy interact. Today’s starter questions:

1. What do you think explains the persistent economic gap between white people and people of color?

2. What would you like to see President Obama do to address the economic needs of people of color?

Thank you for joining the conversation today.

– Manuel Pastor

Today’s new unemployment numbers were ambiguous enough to give each side of the political debate something to chew on. Overall, payrolls fell by 95,000 jobs, thanks to cuts in local government and federal Census jobs. But private sector hiring actually increased by 64,000 jobs.

But this macro-scale look at the problem obscures the real, continuing, and terrible disparities between and among demographic groups. You can read the details here, but the chart should tell it all:

Great video from the US Dept of Education on the reality behind the DREAM Act. From the Dept of Ed’s announcement:

The five-minute piece profiles Samantha Hernandez, a sophomore at California State University Dominguez Hills, and shows the support she receives in pursuit of her academic and career goals. Samantha’s story is told in her own words, as well as those of her fellow students, faculty advisor, college president, and family members — all in Spanish. The camera follows Hernandez on campus and at home in South Central Los Angeles, where she lives with her mother and sisters.

Release of the video coincides with the signing this week by President Obama of a proclamation commemorating National Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) Week. The proclamation celebrates the unique accomplishments of HSIs and their contributions to the community. California State University Dominguez Hills is among the more than 200 HSIs serving more than one million Hispanic students across the nation.

President Obama has set a goal that by 2020, America will have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. While today, approximately 40 percent of U.S. adults are college graduates, he has targeted 60 percent to give our nation the best educated and most competitive workforce. This goal includes graduates of both four-year colleges and two-year colleges.

The video is entitled, “La universidad: un sueño alcanzable,” (“College: An Attainable Dream”) and is closed-captioned in Spanish and in English. Watch it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DKxOPfSzak.

The poverty numbers released today by the US Census Bureau were, to quote a colleague, heart-breaking. While the big number being talked about today is that one in seven Americans is now below the poverty level, that doesn’t tell the whole story.

If you look deeper at the data, the story of who’s hit first and worst is clear. The lowlights:

• More than one in four blacks, Latinos, and non-citizens is below the poverty line
• Biggest drop in real income was among blacks and non-citizens (4.4% and 4.5% drop, respectively)
• Hispanics and non-citizens saw the biggest jump in poverty (2.1 % and 1.8%, respectively)

And those already hit hard are getting hit HARDEST in this recession:

President Obama’s call for a major investment in our national infrastructure is getting a lot of attention as the November elections near.

Photo by Flickr user See Ming Lee. Used under Creative Commons.

But lost in the foolish argument about whether infrastructure investments are a smart way to give the economy a short-term boost - they are – is a more important question.

Will low-income communities and people of color reap long-term benefits from these investments?

Our recovery will begin in our communities – and there is no doubt that low-income communities and communities of color were hit first and worst by this recession. Investing in bridges, transit, broadband, water systems, parks, and other vital infrastructure will help build a strong foundation for sustainable, equitable growth.

We already know that there’s significant pent-up demand for these kinds of projects. The federal TIGER grants program, for instance, received more than $59 billion in requests for just $1.5 billion in actual transportation grants.  (Click here to see a map of TIGER projects)

Any federal infrastructure proposal – including the president’s – will only succeed if it invests in these core areas:

• Leveraging infrastructure investments to boost economies in high-need communities
• Increasing access to quality jobs, job training, and contracting opportunities for women, people of color, and low-income people
• Expanding and upgrading public transportation in urban, suburban, and rural areas
• Coordinating transportation, housing, environment, and community revitalization strategies
• Engaging the public - especially historically disadvantaged communities – in the planning and implementation processes

The President’s proposal heralds a new day of serious, solution-minded policy ideas in Washington. Infrastructure will be the backbone of any true equitable growth strategies.

What infrastructure projects need help in your community? Tell us your ideas in the comments.

Contact:

Janet A. Dickerson, Press Secretary

(510) 421-4157

Janet@policylink.org

NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS LEADERS LAUNCH VIRTUAL BOOK CLUB EXPLORING RACE AND AMERICA’S FUTURE

Six-week online book club will join opinion leaders, equity advocates, and ordinary Americans in a national conversation on race and other critical issues facing our country today

September 8, 2010 – New York, NY – Today, three national civil rights leaders announced the launch of the “Race and America’s Future Virtual Book Club,” a six-week online book club exploring the challenges and opportunities facing our changing nation – and what we can do about them.

Inspired by the new book Uncommon Common Ground: Race and America’s Future (written by PolicyLink Founder & CEO Angela Glover Blackwell, USC Professor Manuel Pastor, and Asian-American civil rights leader Stewart Kwoh), the virtual book club will engage people from all ethnic, cultural, social and political backgrounds in an open, honest, and meaningful discussion on race.

“By 2050 people of color will be the majority in our country – and yet there remains so much work ahead to fix the deep-seated, inequities that persist in our economy, our institutions, our schools, and our communities,” said Angela Glover Blackwell. “America needs a national dialogue on race and, although this virtual book club won’t carry that weight by itself, we do hope it will spark real discussion across the nation and in our communities.”

Beginning Wednesday, Sept. 29^th (and every Wednesday through Election Day),  this online conversation will explore crucial issues facing the country today, as America pushes towards 2050, when people of color will comprise a majority in America. The weekly topical discussions will include:

Sept. 29: Are We Post-Racial Yet?

Oct. 6:      Color Lines: Growing and Accepting Diversity

Oct. 13:    Race and the Economy

Oct. 20:  Urgent Challenges: Immigration, Incarceration, and Climate Change

Oct. 27:  New Leadership for now and 2050

Nov. 3:    Equity is the Superior Growth Model

Each topic will be accompanied by key questions from the authors, helping guide the conversation – but not limiting it.

Hosted through EquityBlog, these discussions will be critical as the November elections approach, and America’s leaders work towards a more equitable and inclusive recovery for all people.

“A successful recovery requires that we all engage and work towards pragmatic solutions that make it possible for all people to participate in America’s resurgence. I encourage you to join us and be a part of this critical dialogue on race our nation so greatly needs,” said Angela Glover Blackwell.

“Race can be an incredibly difficult subject to talk about – which is exactly why we must do so as openly and frankly as possible,” said Manuel Pastor. “Having these conversations in a way that is personal and candid — but with a focus on the policy agenda that follows — will help lay the groundwork for a national agenda that leads with equity. We hope that the ‘Race and America’s Future Virtual Book Club’ will be a useful step towards pushing this conversation in the right direction, and helping us all reach common ground on today’s most divisive issues.”

“Before we can develop policy frameworks that address the many struggles disparately impacting people of color — high unemployment, impoverished communities, poor health and schools — we must deeply understand why race is a common denominator, and is a key to find real and lasting solution to these growing disparities,” said Stewart Kwoh.

For more information on Uncommon Common Ground: Race and America’s Future, and the “Race and America’s Future Virtual Book Club,” please visit EquityBlog.org.