On Monday January 16th, SKDKnickerbocker Managing Director Bill Knapp published an op-ed in the Washington Post. Bill argues that despite the recent tone of political rhetoric, the future in America is bright. If we stop to look at the data, Bill suggests we will find that we have made great strides in education, labor, and poverty over the past 50 years.

Knapp: “Education pays. In 1979, the median income of college graduates was 36 percent more than high school graduates. In 2010, the median income for a college grad was over 79 percent more than his high school counterpart, according the Census Bureau. And here is the real, hidden optimistic point: As a nation we have never been better educated. In 1940, only a quarter of Americans 25 and older had achieved a high school degree or higher. In 2009, that number was close to 90 percent…”

“The bottom line: America’s middle class is still successful. More families own their homes than in any other decade and are by far the best-educated middle class in our history, with ever-expanding access to technology. They have the opportunity to educate their children and prepare them for a great life in a country with a great future. So take that, pessimists.”

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