Everett, Wash.
Published: Wednesday, May 3, 2006

Region can't sustain strong middle class without effort

John Burbank

 By now most of us should have realized that we are not going to end up millionaires, and our children aren't going to make that leap either. The problem we face is that it is becoming harder to make and sustain middle-class economic security and educational opportunity.





In previous economic expansions, middle-class jobs grew in proportion to total job growth. But in the current expansion, low-wage jobs are growing while middle-income jobs are stagnating. In Snohomish and King counties, one-third of job growth has been in industries paying less than $30,000. These jobs grew by 32 percent. Those jobs paying more than $50,000 increased at best by 8 percent.





The good news is that this structural problem has been recognized by policy makers, economists and job developers. So rather than whining about it, they are trying to build an economy that supports and sustains the middle class.





The Prosperity Partnership is a regional economic development effort for King, Snohomish, Pierce and Kitsap counties that puts the creation of good jobs and family-wage incomes at the center of economic growth strategies. The partnership wants to create 100,000 new jobs. Its first principle is that "people living here have good jobs and earn good incomes." That may sound like common sense, but it embodies a much different perspective than the usual tax giveaways that masquerade as economic development.





The partnership, led by former Snohomish County Executive Bob Drewel and co-chaired by Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg, focuses on several industrial clusters to catalyze good-paying jobs. They include the current engines of our economy - aerospace, information technology, trade and life sciences - and the emerging and increasingly vital need for clean technology.





The partnership is moving pretty fast. It is already developing a proposal for next year's Legislature to increase openings for public higher education. Getting into college is becoming harder as an increasing number of kids are graduating from high school. For those who get in, the financial hurdle is higher, as funding per student has dropped by more than $1,500 in the past 15 years for four-year universities.





On the positive side, the state has instituted the WASL to ensure that our K-12 system graduates high-performing students. But that doesn't do them much good, nor does it help our state's economy, if they can't get into college. Opening up universities and community colleges with increased public funding is an important element for an economic development strategy that is premised on creating good-paying jobs.





Another group that is grappling with how to create middle-class jobs is the Seattle Jobs Initiative. SJI's primary purpose is to help unemployed people move into the job market. But it's aware that low-wage work doesn't enable these workers to achieve economic security.





Rather than multiply jobs that pay $8 an hour, SJI is interested in jobs that pay $16 an hour. The premise is that on $8 an hour, you are working yourself into poverty. On $16 an hour, you can work yourself out of poverty.





SJI understands that career ladders are necessary for worker advancement, so that a worker can start at the bottom rung and climb up through educational advancement to higher-value-added work and better pay. SJI is beginning to detail career ladders for the same clusters that the Prosperity Partnership has targeted.





The simple matter is that in order to construct pathways for economic security, you have to have jobs. This is why the Prosperity Partnership is so important. It's a public acknowledgement by some major businesses of their investment in and loyalty to the economy of our state.





Once that step to corporate responsibility is taken, then career ladders, funding for higher education and the development of middle-wage jobs can all fall into place. Without that commitment, efforts for middle-class jobs will founder on the shoals of globalization.





John Burbank, executive director of the Economic Opportunity Institute (www.eoionline.org), writes every other Wednesday. Write to him in care of the institute at 1900 Northlake Way, Suite 237, Seattle, WA 98103. His e-mail address is john@eoionline.org.
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