While Time magazine cover boys Bloomberg and Schwarzenegger say they don't, apparently Mayor Street thinks we do. In this morning's report about the Mayor's release of the children health and welfare report card (.mp3), WHYY's Susan Phillips says:
Mayor Street says the blame can't be placed completely on the city's shoulders instead he points his finger at the federal government's lack of interest in fight poverty, and bad parenting.
Mayor Street:
These are huge systemic problems. It is very difficult and so much of the work that we do today, we do it as almost a substitute for responsible parents.
I completely understand that Mayor Street and the city of Philadelphia are playing this game with a totally different set of cards than Bloomberg in NYC and Schwarzenegger in California. New York is the largest city in the country with the cache of being the financial and media capital of the free world. Schwarzenegger refers to California as a "nation-state" and it's the 8th largest economy in the world. Clearly, both of them have the luxury of being able to tackle problems using local resources that Philly could never hope to have. It's like sitting at a poker table with a 2-7 off suit while the guys next to you have pocket aces, or suited high connectors and a flop with at an ace or two (sorry, just watched the U.S. Poker Championship last night).
Ok. I get that much. But for some reason it still irks me to hear the excuse that because the federal government is sending fewer resources our way, the city can't solve these problems. Frequent commenter and child welfare expert Susan Badeau commented yesterday that:
The important point here is that it is not an "either/or" proposition that is often reflected in public and political discussions - with some saying - "we need MORE money" and others saying "we have enough money we just need to manage it better, use if more wisely."
The real answer is BOTH/AND. These report cards demonstrate that when we do manage the resources wisely and make strategic investments on children based on the information the data provides, we can get better outcomes. So, yes, we need to spend WISELY, but we also need MORE resources so we can get these improved outcomes in many areas.
She isn't speaking specifically to the point that we need more federal government resources, just more resources in general. If those resources come from the city and we spend them wisely, we could see improvements within a few years if not sooner.
The Mayor's second point, that the city has to act as a substitute for irresponsible or bad parents, is even more disturbing. Afterall, a new president could come into office with an urban agenda that directs these necessary resources to cities. But bad parenting and people becoming parents who aren't quite ready for it will continue. I'm almost inclined to respond to the Mayor's lament about the city substituting for parents by saying, that's how it's going to be, so get used it and figure out how to do it right.
Comments (55)
I'm not sure just what Mayor Street means by these remarks. Would the city be better off if parents were all responsible and the federal government actually accepted responsibility for the welfare of its citizens? Of course. But if the reality is that federal aid is lacking and some parents are irresponsible, and everyone else -including the mayor- still has the responsibility of dealing with real problems.
I remember a charter school head bragging that his children had parents who cared about them, and a public school teacher asking, "But what about the children whose parents don't care?"
That's still the harder, and even more important, question. Because if we don't do something about it, those children become a danger to themselves and to others.
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