There’s no more vexing and persistent issue today than youth unemployment, particularly in America’s largest cities, places that propel the dueling forces of prosperity and poverty. Primary factors that tip the relative strength of those forces are access to affordable education and skills training, as well as credible pathways for young adults to earn meaningful income.
When prosperity stalls, the phrase ”income inequality” is often used to describe the problem of economic stratification and concentration of wealth that occurs as a result. This phrase, however, often evokes the wrong response when describing the issue. Indeed, income inequality is inherently a symptom and not the core problem itself.
