Tautologies for our Time

04 09 15 Black construction workerAs many communities are learning, the best (and most cost-effective) way to address homelessness is, well, housing.  And as several communities in the nation have learned by being just a little creative and taking a risk or two, the best way to address chronic joblessness is, well, jobs.

High jobless rates among Black men have been taken as a given by many, but not, as this article from Policy Link shows, by all communities.  Leaders in Milwaukee, Omaha and Los Angeles decided that the cost of this joblessness was just too high.  In anticipation of large, municipal projects that are in the pipeline, municipal leaders have taken steps to prepare Black men for work, putting them into the employment pipeline so that they are ready when the jobs are there.   Another idea whose time has come for more communities, we hope.