The Conundrums of David Brooks: Reducing Class Inequality Without Talking About It

David Brooks deserves to be congratulated. He has discovered that the children of less affluent people don't have the same opportunities as the children of the wealthy. While most of us have long known this, David Brooks still deserves credit for being open to evidence. Better late than never.

Of course he still seems to have some problems figuring out what to do about this fact. He tells readers:

"Political candidates will have to spend less time trying to exploit class divisions and more time trying to remedy them — less time calling their opponents out of touch elitists, and more time coming up with agendas that comprehensively address the problem."

How does this work exactly? If someone proposes taxes on wealthy people to pay for better education for the less wealthy, doesn't this require talking about class divisions? If we were to change rules on corporate governance so that top management could not rip off shareholders and other stakeholders, wouldn't this require discussion of class? If we were to impose a financial speculation tax that would crack down on pointless trading and sleaze dealings (e.g. the LIBOR liars) in the financial sector, wouldn't we have to talk about class? If we adopted trade policies that subjected doctors and other highly paid professionals to the same international competition as autoworkers and textile workers, wouldn't we also have to talk about class?

Brooks apparently finds discussion of class painful, but it is difficult to understand how one would address the "opportunity gap" he describes without this discussion.

It is also worth noting that the problem of paying too much for benefits for the elderly is not quite what he describes. The problem is not that our elderly are getting excessively generous benefits, the problem is that we are paying too much to doctors and other health care providers. If our per person health care costs were comparable to those in other countries, then our programs for the elderly would not pose a serious burden.

Class Warfare, by David Marx Brooks
written by Last Mover, July 10, 2012 6:19

If classes existed
Then so would warfare
But if they didn't
The world would be fair

But since they do
They must be ignored
In order to cure them
With smorgasbords

Of comprehensive agendas
From the ground on up
To keep elites in touch
From having too much

Tear down this class wall
Redistribute the takings
But not to all
Just the ones who make it

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written by Kat, July 10, 2012 6:31

Yeah David-- that's the problem. There has always been way too much discussion of class in this country.

I guess it is OK if you're writing about "the composure class" though.

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written by Ron Alley, July 10, 2012 8:08

I was struck by just how out of touch with reality Brooks must be. The fees for school sports and numerous other activities have really taken a toll on the opportunity for children of modest means to participate. The truly staggering piece is that the fee have been imposed and increased as school district budgets have increased. The administrative costs of local districts budget have increased as fast as, and in many cases faster, than the wages of teachers. School building and renovation contracts are among the most lucrative jobs available in most areas. Both wings of the Corporate Party of America are the culprits. Neither wing seems able to shame the other into addressing these issues.

The municipal recreation opportunities for children are even more needlessly restrictive. An example is our local youth baseball program. The (not insubstantial) fees charged will not deter most children from participating. But the days of the municipal recreation playground leagues are long gone. The games are all scheduled for the evening hours. Parents drive the kids to the games and watch. Kids may be assigned to teams that practice and play most of their games at distant fields. This works great for your average middle class family, but not so great for the single moms or the families struggling to make ends meet on three minimum wage jobs shared by two adults.

There was a day when cities hired college students to "coach" baseball leagues that played all their games on fields in neighborhood playgrounds during the day. Kids walked, or rode bikes, to the playgrounds. There were no parent snack schedules and there was always a line at the water fountain between innings. The children from the more affluent homes played on a level field with those from the less affluent homes. The city mowed and maintained the fields then as now. And field maintenance was, and still is, the biggest expense.

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written by Student, July 10, 2012 12:44

No nit is safe dept; in this:

"the problem is that we are paying to much to doctors "

"to much" should be "too much."

-2

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written by kharris, July 10, 2012 2:48

It is so frustrating when there's a perfectly good term in rhetoric, and I can't remember what it is. Brooks is raising an problem that simply cannot be ignored any longer, but then tries to cut off discussion of an obvious cause of that problem at the same time. One might suspect that he acknowledged the problem of unequal opportunity only in order to try to cut off discussion of class as a contributing factor. Isn't that the whole point to Brooks' imitation of reasonableness? So that he can tell his readers what topics are forbidden as "unreasonable"?

The Conundrums of David Brooks: Reducing Class Inequality Without Talking About It

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