Opportunity News: Florida’s Opportunity Crisis
•Each week, Opportunity Nation shares key stories that explore opportunity-related issues in powerful, provocative ways. Many of these articles and op-eds include new data and research on key economic, educational, social and civic factors that affect upward mobility and community well-being.
As a bipartisan organization committed to working with diverse leaders, organizations and institutions, Opportunity Nation does not endorse all of the opinions or content shared here. But we strongly believe the exchange of ideas and civil dialogue are central to finding common ground and making significant, sustained progress as a society.
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Florida ranks low on the national Opportunity Index
According to the business columnist at the Tampa Bay Times, Robert Trigaux, “Florida says it wants ‘jobs, jobs, jobs’ but it really needs ‘opportunity, opportunity, opportunity.’ “
Income Inequality and Higher Education
A new study of universities in the UK, Australia and the U.S. show that wealthier American students are six times more likely to go to an elite university than are working class students. Yet “with the right mix of high expectations and individualized support, students from all social backgrounds can do well.”
Job Skills
This story about a successful apprenticeship program developed by a German engine manufacturer and public high schools in South Carolina offers a model of what can be done nationwide to help younger workers get decent paying jobs.
Minimum Wage
There is some growing support among Americans for raising the minimum wage, particularly among retail workers, “who earn a median pay of about $9.60 an hour or less than $20,000 a year.”
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