Asking the right questions, but perpetuating the same problem.

In late January, Cincinnati.com published an article entitled, "Are you middle class?"

They start their piece by saying:

The president-elect has all but said that 2009 will be the year of the middle class. But now that Barack Obama is about to governm rather than campaign, defining "middle class" could prove difficult--especially since there's no precise or official definition.

This is the question that WCSU commonly asks, only we explore the complexity of class a little further--by not painting that broad-sweeping brush of "middle class."

Just read Class Matters by NYTimes Corespondents. They illustrate that class is complex, economic, social, a matter of access to power. And certainly not a matter of 3 broad economic categories, of which many in America have become convinced.

We'll have to see if President Obama's "Middle Class Task Force" really works for the "middle class," or maybe, it's off the mark.

--Working Class Student Union's Communication Team

Moving Toward a Solution?

In early January, Newsday reported Sen. Charles Schumer’s proposal of a $4,000 tax credit for college tuition and fees. See the full article here.

"There's almost nothing else that could come out of the stimulus package that is as important for middle-class Long Island families who tremble at the thought of those high tuition bills," Schumer said yesterday.

The article goes on to explain the tax credit:

The proposed tax credit would allow families to deduct from their tax bills up to $4,000 per child, to a lifetime maximum of $16,000 per student. Families could claim up to three students annually, a maximum credit of $12,000 a year. The credit could be used toward tuition, books, room and board for undergraduate or graduate studies.

This compares starkly to President Obama’s plan, in which he wanted to tie a tax credit to 100 hours of public service.

In that sense, it seems Schumer’s plan beats President Obama’s. Many working class students, who will pay their way through college with jobs and loans, cannot afford—in time or money—to dedicate 100 hours of unpaid service. In fact, it could be a set back, despite the tax credit that would be attached.

Is Schumer’s plan moving toward a solution?

--Working Class Student Union's Communication Team