Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Edward P. Rodrigue
Horatio Alger goes to Washington: Representation and social mobility
Progressives worry that growing income inequality is concentrating both wealth and political power in the hands of elites. The Tea Party worries that government is out of touch with ordinary Americans. For two groups with widely divergent political views, these concerns are surprisingly similar: both think our representatives are unrepresentative.
Wealth, Inheritance and Social Mobility
President Obama has called for higher taxes on capital gains, to generate revenue to help middle and lower-income families. Is there also a social mobility case for action? Ending the “Step Up” Unfairness One specific proposal has gained a lot of attention: closing a loophole in our laws concerning inheritance.
Do school secessions worsen racial segregation? It’s complicated
What if a school could breakaway from its district to form its own school system? It turns out that in many parts of the country schools can, and these ‘school secessions’ are happening with increasing frequency. According to EdBuild, 71 communities have attempted to secede from larger districts in the recent past, with about 40 successfully doing so since 2000. Such efforts have taken place across the nation, from Alabama to Ohio and Wisconsin to Colorado and Utah.
Gown towns: A case study of Say Yes to Education
Postsecondary education is the entry ticket to the middle class. But for low-income Americans college success is rare. While education has long been seen as a force for social mobility, inclusion, and equity, it is too often the great stratifier in practice. Boosting social mobility requires interventions that widen the doors to college, and help more students succeed in post-secondary education.
Five evils: Multidimensional poverty and race in America
Poverty is about a lack of money, but it’s not only about that. As a lived experience, poverty is also characterized by ill health, insecurity, discomfort, isolation, and more. To put it another way: Poverty is multidimensional, and its dimensions often cluster together to intensify the negative effects of being poor.
Asian-American success and the pitfalls of generalization
“There is but one race—humanity.” So says Millicent, paramour of the Irish protagonist in George Moore’s 1900 play, “The Bending of the Bough. But Millicent does not run the U.S. Census Bureau. Data on a myriad of economic and social factors can be analyzed by self-defined racial or ethnic category. The huge inequalities between people in different racial categories are one of the most pressing challenges for public policy in the 21st century.
Four ways occupational licensing damages social mobility
It is often rather important that somebody knows what they’re doing. Few of us would board a commercial airplane, for instance, without feeling confident that the pilot was well trained and accredited. Occupational licenses are a way to set a clear competence bar in such activities. But licensing also acts to mute competition by creating barriers to market entry.
How school district boundaries can create more segregated schools
To a very large extent, school segregation is a mechanical result of residential segregation. America’s public schools, by and large, look like America’s neighborhoods.
Racial imbalances in U.S. public schools
How closely does the racial makeup of U.S. public schools resemble that of their surrounding neighborhoods? New research from the Center on Children and Families examines the racial makeup of public schools—both traditional and charters—across the country to identify schools whose racial imbalance with respect to their surrounding neighborhoods makes them ‘outliers’ within their states.
60 years after Brown v. Board of Education, how racially balanced are America’s public schools?
It’s been more than 60 years since the Supreme Court, in Brown v. Board of Education, ruled “separate but equal” schools unconstitutional. In that time, school populations have diversified, thanks in large part to an increase in the numbers of Hispanic and Asian students attending U.S. schools. But how closely do America’s traditional public and charter schools look like the communities they serve? And if schools’ student bodies don’t reflect their neighborhoods’ racial makeup, how come?
The century gap: Low economic mobility for black men, 150 years after the Civil War
The legacy of American racism is dominating the headlines again. One of the arguments used against the removal or relocation of Confederate symbols is that “it is simply part of our history”. This is not the case. The results of the enslavement, disenfranchisement and exclusion of black Americans remain visible and vivid in 21st century America. Take the economic gap between black and white Americans, which is stark and stubborn.
Convenience plus a conscience: Lessons for school integration
The controversial appointment of Betsy DeVos, an advocate for expanding school vouchers, reanimated long-standing arguments over school assignment, funding, and segregation. There is a great deal of political heat here: racial divisions in U.S. schooling echo and amplify the nation’s racist history. Education is a vital ingredient for success in adulthood.
Following the success sequence? Success is more likely if you’re white.
Why are black Americans at greater risk of being poor? This is a complex and contested question, one that has exercised scholars and politicians for decades. One of the most sensitive issues is the relative importance of individual effort and responsibility, compared to the impact of historic and ongoing racial discrimination.
Why risk adjustment is a crucial component of individual market reform | Brookings Institution
The mantra of ‘Repeal and Replace’ has escalated in recent weeks, though what, specifically, the ‘Replace’ component might look like is still unclear. However, many of the current proposals include, at a minimum, some type of continuous coverage provision that allows people with chronic health conditions who have continuously maintained coverage to buy health insurance at standard rates.
Health, housing, and racial justice: An agenda for the Trump administration | Brookings Institution
The next administration will have a very long list of challenges. Racial justice ought to be at the top of the agenda. The average black American will be just as far behind whites in 2017 as they were in 2000 in terms of income, wealth, unemployment, earnings, most health disparities, and the risk of incarceration. In the last couple of decades, progress towards equity for African Americans has effectively come to a halt.
Fixing Washington’s budget process: Why co-opetition is needed | Brookings Institution
It is difficult to imagine anything other than a period of partisan trench warfare for at least a few years following this election. We may hope for compromise, but history suggests that in periods of competitive politics, where either party can imagine a future turnover of power on Capitol Hill and the White House, compromise on the substance of major issues is unlikely. In addition, the public has become frustrated and bad-tempered about Washington.
As many states look to expand pre-K programs, a study gives reason for pause | Brookings Institution
How well does pre-Kindergarten prepare children for elementary school and beyond? Many past studies—some of them high quality, randomized evaluations—have found positive effects on cognitive and behavioral outcomes, especially for low-income children, although those effects have frequently been found to fade.
Segregation, race, and charter schools: What do we know?
In “Segregation, race, and charter schools: What do we know?” Brookings Senior Fellows Grover J. “Russ” Whitehurst and Richard Reeves, along with Senior Research Assistant Edward Rodrigue, find that poverty—not race—is the real challenge for segregated schools, and that improving school quality is key to closing racial achievement gaps.
Careful! Metrics matter a great deal when estimating racial segregation in schools | Brookings Institution
The racial segregation of American schools has historically been a vivid symptom of racist attitudes, institutions, and laws. Segregation remains a highly salient issue, especially given the wide, stubborn gaps in educational outcomes by race. The extent of segregation, its impact on achievement gaps, and the position of charter schools in particular is the subject of our new paper with Russ Whitehurst, Segregation, race, and charter schools: What do we know?
Time for justice: Tackling race inequalities in health and housing | Brookings Institution
INTRODUCTION The first decades of the 21st century have, like the many that came before, been difficult for black America, despite the election and re-election of our first black President. There has been progress on some fronts, including narrower gaps in high school graduation rates, declining rates of teen pregnancy, and fewer suicides among black men.
Clinton’s Child Tax Credit proposal: A good start on helping low- and middle-income families | Brookings Institution
Hillary Clinton’s proposed changes to the Child Tax Credit (CTC) would help poor and middle class families, especially those with young children. Although important design challenges remain, in broad terms the plan is a positive step towards reducing income inequality. The Child Tax Credit: What is it? Clinton’s plan would mark another reform to the CTC, which has evolved considerably since its creation almost two decades ago: At its introduction in 1997, the CTC was worth just $500.
An agenda for reducing poverty and improving opportunity | Brookings Institution
America’s lack of social and economic mobility is now well documented, and both political parties acknowledge the need to expand opportunities for hardworking Americans of modest means. The next president, however, needs to offer more than rhetoric—he or she must propose and fight for policies that allow government to foster greater mobility.
Inequality built the Trump coalition, even if he won’t solve it | Brookings Institution
Inequality, the issue that set Bernie Sanders’ run for the Democratic nomination alight, has gone underground in the presidential contest. Hillary Clinton has occasionally tried to make political capital out of Donald Trump’s financial capital, most recently accusing him of proposing a child care tax-break that would “benefit wealthy families just like his own.” But this is difficult territory for Clinton. She blundered by describing Bill and herself as “dead broke” when they left the White House.
It’s time to stop reducing taxes on the wealthy
House Republicans recently approved the “Death Tax Repeal Act of 2015.” If we care about our debt obligations, social mobility, or equality of opportunity, we should consider doing just the opposite: raising the tax and applying it to more of the super-wealthy. Currently, the estate tax doesn’t touch the first $5.43 million of an individual’s assets and the first $10.86 million of couples’ assets. The tax kicks in after that amount, eventually rising to a top rate of 40 percent.
Transfer season: Lowering the barrier between community college and four-year college
Community colleges are a vital part of America’s opportunity structure, not least because they often provide a way into higher education for adults from less advantaged backgrounds. Each year there are around 10 million undergraduates enrolled at public, two-year colleges. Among first-generation students, nearly 38 percent attend community colleges, compared to 20 percent of students with college-educated parents.
Fewer field trips mean some students miss more than a day at the museum
As every good teacher knows, education is not just about academics. It is about broadening horizons and discovering passions. (The root of education is the Latin e ducere, meaning “to draw out.”) From this perspective, extra-curricular activities count for a great deal. But as Robert Putnam highlights in his book Our Kids, there are growing class gaps in the availability of music, sports, and other non-classroom activities.
To help low-income American households, we have to close the "work gap"
When Franklin Roosevelt delivered his second inaugural address on January 20, 1936 he lamented the “one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished.” He challenged Americans to measure their collective progress not by “whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; [but rather] whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” In our new paper, One third of a nation: Strategies for helping working families, we ask a simple question: How are we doing?
One third of a nation: Strategies for helping working families
Employment among lower-income men has declined by 11 percent since 1980 and has remained flat among lower-income women. Men and women in the top and middle of the income distribution, on the other hand, have been working as much or more since 1980, creating a growing “work gap” in labor market income between haves and have-nots.
Colorado's poor now get to visit the dentist
“A society of equals is a society in which disadvantages do not cluster,” say Jonathan Wolff and Avner de-Shalit in their book Disadvantage. Low income matters greatly in itself, of course. But it also matters because it brings other difficulties along with it, like poor health and/or a lack of health insurance. An important goal of policy is to “de-cluster” these disadvantages.
Home Visiting Programs: An Early Test for the 114th Congress
Congress is poised to determine the future of one of the most innovative government programs you’ve probably never heard of: Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV). The decision, due within the next 54 days, will signal the level of political support for home visiting in particular. But it will tell us even more about the attitude of the new Congress towards the federal government’s role in social policy in general. Let’s start with the basics.
Asian-American success and the pitfalls of generalization
“There is but one race—humanity.” So says Millicent, paramour of the Irish protagonist in George Moore’s 1900 play, The Bending of the Bough. But Millicent does not run the U.S. Census Bureau. Data on a myriad of economic and social factors can be analyzed by self-defined racial or ethnic category. The huge inequalities between people in different racial categories are one of the most pressing challenges for public policy in the 21st century.
Multidimensional poverty and race in America
Poverty is typically defined in terms of a lack of adequate income, especially in U.S. policy debates. But the experience of poverty goes well beyond household finances, and can include a lack of education, work, access to healthcare, or distressed neighborhood conditions. These additional dimensions of poverty can be layered on top of income poverty; they can also put those who are not income-poor at a disadvantage.
Five evils: Multidimensional poverty and race in America
Poverty is about a lack of money, but it’s not only about that. As a lived experience, poverty is also characterized by ill health, insecurity, discomfort, isolation, and more. To put it another way: Poverty is multidimensional, and its dimensions often cluster together to intensify the negative effects of being poor.
The American middle-class is still thriving in Utah
The condition of the American middle class is a near-obsession of politicians and policy wonks alike. Whenever the middle class is mentioned, words like ”struggling,” “stagnant,” and “squeezed” are rarely far away. A recent report from the Pew Research Center went a step further and declared that the middle class is actually shrinking. Of course, a great deal here depends on definitions.
Four ways occupational licensing damages social mobility
It is often rather important that somebody knows what they’re doing. Few of us would board a commercial airplane, for instance, without feeling confident that the pilot was well trained and accredited. Occupational licenses are a way to set a clear competence bar in such activities. But licensing also acts to mute competition by creating barriers to market entry.
Milwaukee, segregation, and the echo of welfare reform
Every day, Willie McShan climbs into a beat-up Chevy van in the parking lot at the Greater Praise Church of God in Christ in Milwaukee and gets a free ride to his job at an auto parts plant in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin. This is a one-church solution to the problem of a lack of jobs in the inner city, and a blessing for the companies facing labor shortages out in Sheboygan.
Milwaukee, segregation, and the echo of welfare reform
Every day, Willie McShan climbs into a beat-up Chevy van in the parking lot at the Greater Praise Church of God in Christ in Milwaukee and gets a free ride to his job at an auto parts plant in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin. This is a one-church solution to the problem of a lack of jobs in the inner city, and a blessing for the companies facing labor shortages out in Sheboygan.
Memo to Hillary Clinton: More choice can thwart community college students
Hillary Clinton has unveiled a plan to improve college access, and few can doubt the urgency of the task. (If you are one of the few, read this by Professor Sean Reardon.) For example, more than 80 percent of new community college students say they want at least a bachelor’s degree but after six years only 15 percent of them have managed to obtain one. Why? The process of choosing classes at many community colleges is a nightmare.
Following the success sequence? Success is more likely if you're white.
Why are black Americans at greater risk of being poor? This is a complex and contested question, one that has exercised scholars and politicians for decades. One of the most sensitive issues is the relative importance of individual effort and responsibility, compared to the impact of historic and ongoing racial discrimination.
Cutting poverty by increasing program participation
You might not think of George W. Bush as the “food stamp president.” But his administration worked hard to help families who qualified for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to get it.
Getting attached: Parental attachment and child development
Attachment theory is founded on the idea that an infant’s early relationship with their caregiver is crucial for social and emotional development. It is an old theory, born during the 1950s. But it can bring fresh light on issues of opportunity and equality today, as a three-decade longitudinal study of low-income children from Alan Sroufe, Byron Egeland, Elizabeth Carlson, and W. A. Collins, all University of Minnesota psychologists, demonstrates.
It's time to stop reducing taxes on the wealthy
Currently, the estate tax doesn't touch the first $5.43 million of an individual’s assets and the first $10.86 million of couples’ assets. The tax affects anything after that amount, eventually rising to a top marginal rate of 40 percent after $1 million above the initial exemption. Proponents of repeal make a number of claims to make their case. Let’s examine the most common. One thing is true: repeal would mean a large tax break for the wealthiest 0.2% of the population.
Sen. Marco Rubio’s flawed proposals for the Earned Income Tax Credit
Tax Day—this Wednesday—is one of give and take. While many Americans have written out checks to the IRS, others will be looking forward to a check from the government, thanks to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which turns 40 this year. It now accounts for $66 billion in spending; 26.2 million tax filers (nearly a fifth of all individual filers) received an average of $2,359 in 2012. The EITC is a favorite target for tax reformers.
Single black female BA seeks educated husband: Race, assortative mating and inequality
There is a growing trend in the United States towards assortative mating — a clunky phrase that refers to people’s tendency to choose spouses with similar educational attainment. Rising numbers of college-educated women play a key role in this change. It is much easier for college graduates to find and marry each other when there are more equal numbers of each gender within an educational bracket. A media storm erupted in the Spring of 2013 when a Princeton alum, Susan A.
Single black female BA seeks educated husband: Race, assortative mating and inequality
There is a growing trend in the United States towards assortative mating—a clunky phrase that refers to people’s tendency to choose spouses with similar educational attainment. Rising numbers of college-educated women play a key role in this change. It is much easier for college graduates to find and marry each other when there are more equal numbers of each gender within an educational bracket. A media storm erupted in the Spring of 2013 when a Princeton alum, Susan A.
California dreaming: Social mobility in the Golden State
California is often held up as a warning to those with misplaced aspirations for upward mobility. Yes, Hollywood and Silicon Valley hold out the promise of fame and wealth, but observers from Rick Perry to Woody Guthrie have denounced that story as mere myth: for the average Californian, they say, taxes are high, regulations onerous, and the workers outnumber the jobs.
Born equal? Prenatal care and social mobility
It is close to a cliché in social policy circles that “earlier is better”— but it is also largely true. While we should avoid the early years determinism of assuming that life chances are fixed by five, it is clear that it is typically more effective and more cost-effective to act early.
Wealth, Inheritance and Social Mobility
President Obama has called for higher taxes on capital gains, to generate revenue to help middle and lower-income families. Is there also a social mobility case for action? One specific proposal has gained a lot of attention: closing a loophole in our laws concerning inheritance. Currently, any capital gains accrued over a person’s lifetime are not taxed when the person dies, because the value of the assets is “stepped up” at death, creating a new basis for one’s heirs.
Five Bleak Facts on Black Opportunity
What would Martin Luther King Jr. think of America in 2015 if he’d lived to see his eighty-sixth birthday? No doubt, he’d be pleased by the legal and political advances of black Americans, crowned by the election and re-election of President Obama. But King would be disturbed by the stubborn race gaps that remain, especially in opportunity, tarnishing the idea of the American Dream. In terms of opportunity, there are still two Americas, divided by race. Five facts show how far we still have to go.
Five Bleak Facts on Black Opportunity
What would Martin Luther King Jr. think of America in 2015 if he’d lived to see his eighty-sixth birthday? No doubt, he’d be pleased by the legal and political advances of black Americans, crowned by the election and re-election of President Obama. But King would be disturbed by the stubborn race gaps that remain, especially in opportunity, tarnishing the idea of the American Dream. In terms of opportunity, there are still two Americas, divided by race. Five facts show how far we still have to go.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Edward P.
Contact Edward P., search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack