(November 2018) The Policy Foundation is joining with the Indiana-based Center for the Study of Liberty (CSL) to host a Nov. 15 dinner on the conversational topic “Poverty and Education.”

 

CSL is “Building A Free Society, One Conversation At A Time.”  The Indiana non-profit is teaming with the Policy Foundation, founded in 1995, for their first event in Arkansas.

 

CSL connects “people to opportunities and to one another so they can explore big questions about human freedom.”  The group explains, “Our programs encourage, strengthen, and inspire your efforts on your schedule.”

 

“We don’t push political action, advocate for legislation, or dictate solutions,” CSL notes.  “We offer food for thought, tools of analysis, and the space to respectfully inquire, debate, and connect with peers and scholars from different backgrounds.”  Past events have featured conversations about free speech, entrepreneurship, elevating civil discourse, mass incarceration and its alternatives, and rising above poverty.

 

The Policy Foundation is honored to advance civil society in Arkansas by working with the Center.

 

About The Event

 

During the event participants will read a few short articles, explore the readings and topic in depth over a meal, connect with colleagues and friends, and spark civil conversations led by an expert facilitator.

 

Event Topic

 

Education is generally regarded as the key to success, providing many young people with a pathway out of poverty. Gary Becker, a Nobel Prize winning economist, writes, “Many studies have shown that that high school and college education in the United States greatly raise a person’s income, after netting out direct and indirect costs of schooling, and even adjusting for the fact the people with more education tend to have higher IQs and better educated, richer parents.”

 

But, is there more to the story? There are new studies suggesting that the chances of a child rising out of poverty vary greatly by geography.  Young people growing up in some cities, such as Salt Lake City, have much better chances than do young people brought up in Baltimore, Maryland.  Are out-of-school factors, such as poverty and income inequality more important to social mobility than in-school factors such as having a high quality curriculum, taught by effective teachers?

 

In this discussion, we will investigate the importance of providing young people a high-quality education.  We will also consider other important factors that may influence economic success such as segregation and family structure. Different points of view will be considered within the context of a civil exchange of ideas.   Perhaps we can gain a better understanding of the conditions that are required for young people to rise out of poverty and achieve the American dream.

 

More information about the Center for the Study of Liberty is available at this link:

http://www.studyliberty.org/