Policy Brief for a Social Work (Economic Oriented) Class

Policy Brief For A Social Work (Economic Oriented) Class
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Executive Summary
Education is the most effective approach at eliminating poverty. It provides learners with equal opportunities to overcome their barriers and access more opportunities. Unfortunately, the current inequality prevents students from getting equal education. Therefore, the government should increase the funding and invest more in scholarship programs to support learners wishing to further their learning. These scholarship programs should also be given to tertiary institutions to encourage learners to pursue higher learning.
Policy Brief For A Social Work (Economic Oriented) Class
Context of Scope of Problem
Income gap in quality college education is an area of concern for many researchers and policy makers. According to Erwin et al. (2020), the income gaps in college enrollment, persistence, and graduation has continued to raise concerns for people who value equality in society. Policy makers, economists, and the public have continued to engage in discussions on how to alleviate the rising income inequality in many countries around the world (Coady & Dizioli, 2018). This increase has been attributed to several factors including liberalization of factor and product markets, and globalization. The problem has also been associated with the increasing labor force participation by members from the low income families, the reducing top marginal income tax rates, and the increasing number of single-parent households. According to Duke-Benfield et al. (2018), the modern college students are no longer ones in the 18 to 22 age bracket from middle-class families whose parents were able to fully support them. This number forms only a third of the total number. Instead, modern college students mainly comprise low-income, working adults who are struggling to balance studying with work, and family. These learners are also more likely to be first-generation attenders, immigrants, and students of color seeking better jobs, and high incomes.
Policy Alternatives
Education expansion can be an important policy instrument to combat the increasing income inequality over a given period. Education will not only help promote economic growth, it will also help break the intergenerational transmission of poverty and increase the number of opportunities for those from the low income societies to excel and get better jobs, which will in turn eliminate the problem of income inequality. Other policy alternatives exist, such as progressive income tax policies, minimum wage policy, building assets for working families, and ending residential segregation (Powell, 2014). Each of these initiatives if well implemented can lift the working families out of poverty. However, education has proven to be a more effective approach because it does not require one to be working in order to benefit. Instead, it gives the learners an equal opportunity to get employment and get themselves out of poverty.
Differences in early education and school quality play an essential role in contributing to the persistence in inequality across the various generations. Educati...