Revista (PDF) - Universidade do Minho

220
DIACRÍTICA
citizen’s birthright. Now they are tossed into the marketplace, while their
upwardly mobile peers win state-subsidized university educations.
This is just plain wrong. Members of the middle class are no less
citizens than members of the symbol using class. And for the first time
in a long time, their claim to equal citizenship will be treated with
genuine respect. For the first time, they will confront the labor market
with a certain sense of security. The stake will give them the independence
to choose where to live, whether to marry, and how to train for
economic opportunity. Some will fail. But far fewer than today.
We should, of course, structure the program to maximize the
successes. For starters, no stakeholder should be allowed free use of
his $80,000 without completing secondary school and passing a state
or national qualifying examination. Dropouts would have their stakes
held in trust, and could just spend the $4000 or $5000 in annual interest.
This single requirement will prevent the massive waste of precious
capital funds – call it «stakeblowing» – by those least capable of
handling adult responsibilities. It will also provide a beacon of hope to
children locked in rural poverty or urban ghettos. Stay in school and
graduate, and you will not be forgotten. You will get a solid chance to
live out the dream of economic independence.
Some members of the underclass face multiple social problems –
inadequate education, drug or alcohol abuse, a propensity to violence
– that leave them ill-equipped to handle financial responsibility for
their stake. Despite pervasive media images, the size of the so-called
«underclass» is quite small – for example, it is less than 4 percent of
the American population. Most of these people would be excluded
from full control of their stake by the requirement of high-school
graduation. As a consequence, they will only gain access to an annual
interest payment of $4000 to $5000 a year. This will not be nearly
enough to help them cope with their problems, and they should also
receive special assistance.
But for present purposes, the important point is this: We should
not allow the special problems of a small minority divert our attention
from the central problem posed by our emerging three-class society.
Quite simply, there are tens of millions of ordinary people who are
perfectly capable of responsible decision making in a stakeholding
society, but are becoming the forgotten citizens of our globalizing
economy. We should confront this problem now before the wealth
gap widens even further.
In designing a functional program, questions of timing will be
crucial. In contrast to the Blair proposal, I would not give large stakes