For Young Iowans is it Jobs or Education?
by Paul DeatonWhat is a progressive to do when young, educated Iowans are leaving the state in droves, leaving an aging population and in many ways, taking our hope for a progressive future with them? It is partly about jobs, but that is not the whole story.
Young people are not attracted to agricultural jobs. Who is? When agriculture moved to fungible commodities like corn, soybeans, oats, wheat and alfalfa, efficiency became essential. The same holds true of livestock and dairy production. Efficiency drove the role of technology and decreased the number of people required to farm an acreage. The family farm of today is radically different from the family farm of 1900, partly for this reason. Ask a farmer, it is still hard and physical work, one of the most dangerous professions in the state, and fraught with uncertainty. It also requires an understanding of financial markets, environmental regulations, information technology, crop cycles, weather patterns and a host of other quotidian things that make it less likely to attract young people to work in that profession. Iowa's population is drawn to urban centers.
With the flight from rural Iowa to urban centers, employment prospects play a key role in whether or not a young Iowan chooses to stay here. Take a look at the work people do in the state. There is not a lot to attract a young, educated person.
According to Iowa Workforce Development, total non-farm employment was 1,464,200 in December 2010. Of this workforce, people worked in trade, transportation and utilities (19.8%); government (17.3%); education and health services (14.6%); manufacturing (14.1%); leisure and hospitality (9.0%); professional and business services (8.5%); financial activities (6.9%) and a few other categories. The listed economic activities make up 90% of the non-farm employment, and in an “open shop” or “right to work” state, pay and benefits are “competitive” but are not outstanding. In December 2010, there were 106,300 unemployed Iowans who might want such a job. Young people are willing to delay a career and these jobs to pursue other interests.
After college, young Iowans are not ready to spend a lifetime on the assembly line, driving a truck or working in a hospital, call center or an insurance office, nor should they be. We don't want them to have diminished ideals adjusted downward to meet the Iowa slate of jobs. Yet expectations developed during their education drive the departures.
When we consider the 2011 legislative session, we hope legislators will be driven by figuring out how to improve Iowa's economy. This is partly about jobs with the underlying assumption being that by improving the economy, young people will want to stay or return home to Iowa. It is a dicey proposition. In the end, economic factors don't drive most college graduates I know, especially just after graduation.
What remains critical to having our children consider living in Iowa is the education we give them, both formal schooling and what we teach them at home.
It may seem obvious, but the Republican's chainsaw approach to cutting education can be taken as an assault on progressives. There is a reason Republicans are picking this battle. It is not an assault on teachers unions only. It is an assault on the way we educate our children and an effort to drive out progressive ideas.
Already new Republican rules have restricted state legislators in their contact with regents university representatives in Des Moines. The property tax relief proposed by the governor to help schools balance their budget is targeted towards rural districts which are less progressive. There are many fronts on this battle.
The 84th General Assembly may be about jobs and the economy, and maybe that will attract some young people to stay here. The more important issue for progressives should be education. The impact of what the government will do on education this year goes well beyond a single legislative session or election cycle. It goes directly to how we educate our children, whether they will be a part of Iowa's future and ultimately whether or not progressive ideals will be compromised going forward.
During the 2010 midterms many of us knew what was at stake. It is turning out that our assessment was right and don't let the talk about jobs mislead us, it is more about education. ~Paul Deaton is a native Iowan living in rural Johnson County and weekend editor of Blog for Iowa. E-mail Paul Deaton
Check out Marty Ryan's article, “Driving Young Adults out of Iowa” for more in depth analysis of the legislation that may impact the lives of our children.
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