Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) recently announced seven new projects under the Empire State Poverty Reduction Initiative in Buffalo. The main goal of the program is to put impoverished citizens on a path toward being able to comfortably support themselves.

These initiatives don’t just focus on helping people out of poverty. They also teach tools so that people are able to support themselves above the poverty line. That’s what’s going to lead to lifelong success.

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Austin Zwick, a Syracuse University public affairs assistant teaching professor, said he agrees that training people to have employable skills is necessary for them to have lasting prosperity.

The Empire State Poverty Reduction Initiative calls for creating a workplace connection program. This program will place people in jobs that allow for family sustainability, preparation for competitive job fields, assistance for those with disabilities and measures to help individuals overcome barriers to employment.

The program aims to ensure job placement for people in the program, and that they make more than just the bare minimum in wages.

Zwick said, “They (Cuomo’s projects) focus on people rather than places, which is good.”

Viewing issues of poverty and homelessness as more complex than just employment topics encourages more holistic solutions, in general.

Economic inequality is not only seen in a person’s average income, but also in the opportunities available to people based on their economic status. For example, the American job market places such a heavy emphasis on education. People without a diploma are disadvantaged from educated citizens.

This creates a productivity-pay gap, meaning that while profits and the economy have grown over the past 40 years, wages for employees without a college degree have stayed the same.

People without higher education have unfairly been set up to fail in the current state of the economy, but Cuomo’s projects attempt to break through those barriers by providing people with jobs education.

Lauren Spiezia is a freshman newspaper and online journalism major. Her column appears bi-weekly. She can be reached at lespiezi@syr.edu.

Published on March 31, 2019 at 11:57 pm