As we segregate by income into different communities, schools in lower-income areas have fewer resources than ever.
Robert ReichRead
As public schools deteriorate, the upper-middle class and wealthy send their kids to private ones. As public pools and playgrounds decay, the better-off buy memberships in private tennis and swimming clubs. As public hospitals decline, the well-off pay premium rates for private care.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the growing divide between public resources and private alternatives based on socioeconomic status.
Robert Reich's quote reflects the widening gap in access to quality services, such as education and healthcare, as society's wealthier individuals increasingly turn to private institutions to meet their needs. This trend suggests that as public resources decline, the affluent are able to insulate themselves from the shortcomings of the public system, thereby exacerbating inequality and leaving the disadvantaged with fewer options.
Themes
Public SchoolsPrivate CareInequalityResourcesAffluencePublic ServicesEducationHealthcare
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about educational reforms, one might reference this quote to emphasize the importance of investing in public education.
More from Robert Reich
All quotes →What are called 'public schools' in many of America's wealthy communities aren't really 'public' at all. In effect, they're private schools, whose tuition is hidden away in the purchase price of upscale homes there, and in the corresponding property taxes.
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What someone is paid has little or no relationship to what their work is worth to society.
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Tax laws favor capital over labor, giving capital gains a lower rate than ordinary income. The rich get humongous mortgage interest deductions while renters get no deduction at all.
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The dirty little secret is that both houses of Congress are irrelevant. ... America's domestic policy is now being run by Alan Greenspan and the Federal Reserve, and America's foreign policy is now being run by the International Monetary Fund [IMF]. ...when the president decides to go to war, he no longer needs a declaration of war from Congress.
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You can't inspire people if you are going to be uninspiring.
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