Sandra Vargas, president, Minneapolis Foundation

Last update: February 9, 2008 - 6:35 PM

SANDRA VARGAS, PRESIDENT, MINNEAPOLIS FOUNDATION

We have to ask ourselves: How do we stay competitive in this state and turn this around if we don't make sure every child has the basics when they are born and has a good education as they get older?

Most people don't know this: Between 2003 and 2005, more than $213 million was cut from the state's child care assistance program, which pays for child care for the working poor.

More than 152,000 children in Minnesota are in poverty. That's an increase of 35 percent since 2000. The number living in extreme poverty has doubled in that time.

There are 85,000 uninsured children in Minnesota. This has steadily increased between 2001 and 2005.

We can't afford not to think about the long term. If we don't plant the seeds now, with good education and health care for all kids and families, I think we are about to drop significantly in our competitiveness with other communities. Our workforce needs to be built up, for the self-preservation of the state.

Regardless of what the immediate crisis is, let's get out of crisis thinking and figure out what part of the budget has to be planted, to be harvested in the long term.

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When we have a recession, the first people who feel it are those folks living on the edge. Yet when that happens, the first things we usually think about cutting are the early and prevention strategies. I'm worried about families that live on the edge simply falling off, with more kids winding up neglected, abused and in foster homes, because we won't provide enough resources to intervene beforehand.

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The issues of race and class in this community don't often get talked about. But we have such a growing disparity between people who have a lot of wealth and people who are absolutely living on very few dollars. That kind of spread does not allow us to knit together a very strong economic fabric.

So why aren't we doing something bold? For example: All over the country and in other countries, people are using new education methodologies. It's not rocket science.

Another example: We just had a discussion about youth violence, how to prevent kids from killing themselves. They said keep the parks open. Keep the libraries open. Respect us -- some very basic things.

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