Sentenced to Poverty?

The American Dream. The NH Advantage. These phrases, while frequently bandied about, are also under fire.

In compiling this issue, a colleague and I got into a debate about the cover story. After reading Adam’s story, she questioned why he didn’t go back to college earlier and earn a degree that will help him land a more consistent job and get back on his feet.

Implied in that question is a response many have to the poor. If people would assume responsibility for themselves and take the necessary steps to rise from their economic situation, they would be fine. It’s the American Dream. If you work hard and persevere, you will succeed. And, if you could do it anywhere, wouldn’t that work in NH? We are a state of well-educated, affluent, healthy people—just look at the statistics. And our lack of an income or sales tax is a lure for businesses with good paying jobs. It’s the NH Advantage.

But as the story in this issue demonstrates, there are many who put in grueling hours, cobbling together a living on part-time jobs, yet still barely make ends meet. When you are working to feed a family and keep a roof over your head, finding the time, money and transportation for college isn’t so simple.

And even if you do manage to scrape together scholarships, loans and savings and burn the midnight oil to get a degree, it’s hardly a golden ticket to a job any more, never mind one that pays well. Worse, many who have lived the American Dream know how fleeting it can be. Just look at the victims of corporate reorganizations, some of whom remain unemployed.  

But it’s not just the American Dream that’s in trouble. The NH Advantage is eroding. Where NH once led post-recession recoveries, we’ve been slow out of the gate on this last one. While we’ve enjoyed a reputation as an affluent state with a well-trained workforce—a workforce that we imported for the most part, our in-migration rate has slowed to a crawl. If we start to look internally for our future workforce, then we must consider that our investment in education remains among the worst in the country. Given the disadvantages of growing up poor, we must face head on the challenges that will result from the swelling ranks of NH children living in poverty. The number jumped 30 percent between 2011 and 2012.

As a nation and as a state, we must look at investing in the most vulnerable or the NH Advantage will become an illusion we hide behind rather than a reality we live.

Sincerely,

Matthew J. Mowry

Editor