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The power of friendships between poor kids and rich kids

The power of friendships between poor kids and rich kids

For a poor kid, having wealthy friends is one of the strongest determinants of economic mobility later in life.

Why it matters: That data point, from a study published in the journal Nature today, underscores the real-world power of friendship.

  • We know accumulating friends in different stages of our lives can decrease stress, lengthen life, improve our performance at work and even make us better parents.
  • We know friendships with our neighbors can be the difference between life and death in tragedies and natural disasters.
  • And now we know cross-class friendships are drivers of wealth and success for less fortunate children.

The big pictures: The study authors did a first-of-its-kind analysis of 72 million Facebook friendships between US adults.

  • What they found: If poor children grew up in neighborhoods in which 70% of their friends were rich, their future incomes would be 20% higher than their counterparts who grew up without these bonds across class lines.
  • This was a stronger indicator of future income than factors like family structure and school quality, as well as the racial makeup and job availability in the child’s community.

reality check: It’s not that simple. Friendships across class are increasingly hard to come by in our divided country.

  • For example, for people in the bottom 10% of the income distribution, only 2.5% of their friends are in the top 10%, Johannes Stroebel, an economist at NYU and one of the study authors, tells Axios.
  • There are some cities that are doing better than others. In Salt Lake City and Minneapolis, nearly half of the friends of folks in the bottom half of the income distribution are in the top half. But in Indianapolis, only about 30% of poorer people’s friends are rich.
  • And there are certain spaces where cross-class bonds are built more frequently, Stroebel says. Churches, temples and other religious spaces are in that category.

What to watch: There are big policies — like implementing school busing, diversifying college admissions by class, and increasing the availability of affordable housing — that can increase the prevalence of cross-class friendships.

But we can all make a greater effort to diversify our friend circles.

  1. reach out to people at your place of worship, your dog park or your grocery store.
  2. Meet people through volunteer work around your community.
  3. take your kids to free activities at parks and local libraries that are available to families of all backgrounds and where children can make friends with kids from all walks of life.

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Categories
US

Congress on “high alert” amid security threats

Congress on "high alert" amid security threats

A series of high-profile security incidents is rattling members of Congress and prompting Capitol security officials to take major steps to shore up lawmakers’ security.

Why it matters: Threats against lawmakers have risen precipitously in recent years, and many of them are still reeling from the violence of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Driving the news: The House sergeant-at-arms on Wednesday announced plans to cover the costs of security upgrades to members’ homes, including $10,000 for equipment and installation costs and $150 a month for monitoring and maintenance.

  • The development came just weeks after a man was arrested for threatening Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) outside her home while armed with a handgun.
  • More recently, Rep. Lee Zeldin (RN.Y.), who’s running for New York governor, was attacked by a man holding a sharp object at a campaign event.

What they’re saying: Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), who chairs an appropriations subcommittee that oversees the Capitol Police, told Axios that “everybody’s on high alert” in the wake of these incidents.

  • “The threats are real, the increases have been unbelievable,” he said. “We’ve got to do everything we can to try to make sure people are safe. Lot of wild cats out there.”
  • Ryan said the Capitol Police and sergeant-at-arms are doing enough to keep members safe “so far,” but added, “We’ve got a lot more to do.”
  • A Capitol Police spokesperson told Axios they “cannot discuss what we may or may not do to protect Members.”

The otherside: Jayapal said she doesn’t think security officials are doing enough. “I think we need a lot more. And, you know, I’ve learned a lot from going through this myself,” she told Axios.

  • Jayapal said the sergeant-at-arms’ allotment is a “good step” but that wants there to be “a pool of money [for] when we do have a serious threat at our residences.”
  • After she was threatened outside her home, she said, she received an assessment that recommended $50,000-$60,000 in security upgrades.
  • Additionally, she said security officials should help scrub members’ addresses from the internet and improve their communication with members’ offices.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.), who has received a lot of death threats, wants a fundamental overhaul in members’ security.

  • ”If you’re on a certain committee, if you have a certain [leadership] title, your security is already taken care of. But increasingly we are having … rank-and-file members, not just me, but many others, who are subject to increasing threats,” she told Axios.
  • There should be “an assessment for the current threat environment for each individual member,” she said.
  • Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), the ranking member of the House Administration Committee, told Axios: “Zeldin almost gets stabbed – there should’ve immediately been a Capitol Police detail going to New York to protect him.”

The backdrop: Capitol security and law enforcement took no chances with Thursday’s Congressional Baseball Game, which has been the subject of violence in the past.

  • The event was targeted this year by climate demonstrators vowing to “shut down” the game.
  • In response, DC Police boosted security for the game, the Capitol Police urged protesters to stay away, and the House sergeant-at-arms sent offices a memo reassuring them there was a “comprehensive security plan in place.”
  • The demonstration resulted in several arrests but no violence.

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