It has been two years since protesters first gathered in downtown Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park, sparking a movement that spread across the nation and engendered a long overdue discussion about income inequality.
However, Occupy Wall Street faded from America’s political landscape almost as quickly as it emerged, at least in part due to the movement’s refusal to elect leaders or provide a specific set of demands. Bill de Blasio, now the Democratic nominee for the mayoral race, has successfully seized the mantle of the movement — a positive development not just for the defunct OWS but also for New York City.
De Blasio has centered his campaign around a narrative of New York as a tale of two cities — a divided urban center in which the very wealthy, or the 1 percent, earn 44 percent of the city’s income while the working and middle classes, or the 99 percent, struggle with unemployment and lack of affordable housing.
Income inequality is not in and of itself an issue that requires remedying. Inequality becomes untenable, however, when individuals do not have the opportunity to leave the working class and enter a prosperous class.
Education is central to mobility, and de Blasio has successfully channeled OWS’s ideas in his proposals regarding the issue. The nominee has argued for increasing the city’s income tax by slightly over .5 percent for those earning over $500,000, which would generate enough revenue to provide not just universal pre-K education but also after-school programs for all middle school students.
Early education has been proven to succeed in multiple areas. A study of Chicago public schools found that every dollar invested in preschool education returned $11 to society over a student’s lifetime.
Perhaps even more important is how it better prepares young children for elementary school, providing a head start that affluent children are likely to already have. Even coupled with de Blasio’s other proposals like decreasing class sizes, however, these programs will not provide a panacea to New York’s education problems. Nonetheless, de Blasio has shown the political courage to bridge the gap between the two New Yorks by using inequality to engender mobility, and should be applauded.
America’s lagging educational system is perhaps the best embodiment of the nation’s failure to meet its own creed of equality opportunity. As shown in the sharp differences in retention and graduation rates between private and public schools, New York City’s system magnifies its inequalities. De Blasio’s proposals, rooted in the still pervasive beliefs of an inoperative movement, represent a step in the right direction for both OWS and New York City.
A version of this article appeared in the Thursday, Sept. 19 print edition. Raj Mathur is a contributing columnist. Email him at [email protected].
