National Security and the Middle Class

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reminds us that the world is still a very dangerous place where a number of nations and non-state actors simply hold world views fundamentally different than those of most Americans. Having spent much of my life in the military looking at these threats, I’m concerned that in some ways they are more menacing now than several decades ago. But I also feel reasonably confident that if we stay vigilant, work with our allies, and, in a bipartisan manner, leverage our huge advantages our national security processes can effectively deal with them.

But since I retired from the military I’ve come to sense another threat to our future. An equally challenging one that also requires a systemic national security response. In this case, though, the threat is internal and centers around the fragile state of our middle class and limitations on economic mobility. To me this threat runs to the core of who we are as a nation.

Our country was founded on the premise that every person can succeed if they apply themselves. Many have, and over time we built a large middle class that has proven to be a source of strength for the nation. But for some Americans this success has remained aspirational, and over the last few decades the gap between those succeeding and those falling behind has grown. And the impact has been felt across the nation, from rural areas to Rust Belt communities to large cities.

According to Pew Research, in 1971 the percentage of American adults living in middle-income households was 61%. In 2021 it was 50%. During this same period the percentage of adults in upper tier income households rose from 14 % to 21%, while those in lower income households grew from 25 to 29%. In general terms, the middle class has declined and the number in the upper- and lower-income levels has increased.

This is not just an economic challenge but a national security issue that is becoming an existential threat. A thriving middle class and achievable economic mobility drive a belief in institutions and political stability, which is central to our basic functioning as a rational, practical, and civil democracy. Watch any newscast today for 5 minutes and you’ll see that we have lost this.

I also believe that our ability to serve as a source of moral force that men and women of goodwill around the globe can recognize is dependent on sustaining the belief that we are a politically stable middle class nation that champions opportunity and fairness.

This is a complex issue driven by numerous factors. A loss of manufacturing over decades has been a key one. Another is the rapid pace of technological change that is increasingly driving which skills are paid well. A third involves the impact of race over several centuries. Compounding all this are unknowns about the long-term impact of Covid on education, wages, employment, and the workforce.

And a central challenge is the fact that our politics have become so polarized there’s no space for frank conversation on functional solutions. Widely differing agendas have become so fragmented that we have lost a practical sense of life and a focus on a common American interest -- the idea that everyone, no matter who you are, where you live, or where you are from, can succeed here.

Successive US administrations have formed their own response to these challenges at the national level with varying success. At this point we need to reassess execution at the tactical level, or community level, where most of our focus is on mitigation - not on solving the core challenges upstream. We specifically need to find a bipartisan systemic solution that aligns the community’s efforts on the overarching goal, identifies the tactics to achieve it, and provides a leadership governance structure that can debottleneck and get things done.

In an attempt to do this, in mid-2019 a small group, which I am a part of, started a pilot effort in the community of Haverhill, Massachusetts. The intent is to build a systemic community process that enables all public-school students to achieve a true living wage job. A job that supports a good home, transportation, and the ability to raise a family if desired. The goal is to not operate on the margins but to make success the norm for every student. And in the process develop a bipartisan model that could be employed in other US communities.

The pilot program, called HP3 – or Haverhill Public-Private Partnership – centers around a systemic community process run by a public-private partnership that coordinates, integrates and focuses community programs and resources to achieve the singular goal – every public school student achieves a living wage job.

The program leverages the work of the schools and social organizations and emphasizes a series of core tasks. These include engaging students and parents from 6^th grade through high school about interests and career planning, providing mentors on a grand scale, and eliminating transportation as an obstacle to success. The most essential task is to convene a group of community leaders annually and, acting much like a project management team, assess progress and refocus collective community efforts toward the singular goal. Basically, identify what else needs to be done or better resourced to achieve the objective.

The program is still in its infancy and we see this as a 10-year effort at a minimum. We recently hired a full-time HP3 Director who possesses extensive leadership experience and is the perfect person to lead a complex nonstandard mission. And to date we have executed several components of the career exploration program and recently completed a pilot mentor program. Perhaps most significantly, a segment of the community that includes the Mayor, School Superintendent, local Community College President, several members of the City Council, Chamber of Commerce President, and parts of the business community support the program and believe that a sustained systemic effort can succeed. Time will tell.

Achieving this goal clearly was not realistic a decade ago. It is now. A host of tools and resources are available that change the equation – flexible and creative Community College programs, professional credentialing courses for in-demand skills, virtual tours of career fields and businesses, structured apprenticeships/internships, and affordable ride-share options to get there are just some examples. There are others.

And as divisive as our politics appear, in the past we have found ways to collaborate in narrow areas when the situation desperately required it. Look back to the late 1930s when the animosity between supporters of the New Deal and parts of the business community was as severe as our current divide. But by 1940 they put aside huge differences and orchestrated the mobilization of the US industrial base that ultimately won the Second World War. Today, we need to isolate this one area – every public student to a true living wage job – from the divisive emotional issues that define our current politics and generate a similar common sense of purpose to address another clear threat to our future.

Dealing with the external security threats I outlined in my opening is essential to protecting our future. But systemically extending the notion of the American Dream to all Americans and sustaining a large middle class is also central to our nation’s long-term viability, strength, and welfare. HP3 is an initial effort to find a practical, nonpartisan, and effective solution to achieve this at the community level.

Note - This article was originally published in RealClearDefense on January 16, 2023