No Comment 14.2

Global Inequality in Wealth

The wealth of the three richest individuals in the world is now equal to the gross national products of the 48 least-developed countries of the world. Furthermore, the net worth of the world’s 200 richest people is increasing at the rate of $500 per second – or $43.2 million a day.

An Abdication of Responsibility

Across Wisconsin, more than half the students expelled from the largest school districts were not offered any alternative education during their expulsion period, according to an analysis by the Associated Press.

Practices varied widely by district. In Racine, for instance, all 146 students expelled during the 1997-98 school year were offered alternatives. Oshkosh and Waukesha also offered alternatives to all students, with alternatives ranging from alternative institutions to home schooling, tutoring, or time at computer-aided learning centers.

In Milwaukee, only 45 of the 255 expelled students were offered alternatives. Aquine Jackson of the Milwaukee Public Schools rationalized the figures this way: Why would we give services to students