LTTE "Many poor people have lower IQs" Birmingham News, Alabama [View All]

[jody]

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David Brooks' Sept. 27 column "Equality of opportunity fails in U.S." was very interesting. I worked as a social worker in Alabama for seven years and have had extensive contact with the problems of the poor.

In order to more effectively work with my clients, I would send them for psychological evaluations and IQ tests. The results of the IQ tests were consistently low, around 75 to 80. This is the reason many of the poor are not attending college. They do not have the intelligence (an IQ of 110 or higher) to be able to do college-level work.

Brooks says 28 percent of the population has a college degree. This fits well with the fact that 25 percent of the population has an IQ above 110. Thus, our society is making efficient use of those individuals who are able to benefit from higher education. Brooks indicates society is discriminating against the poor. However, 25 percent of the population has an IQ below 90, something that correlates with the lower quadrant of society. He states only 8.6 percent of the poorest quarter of the population get a college degree. However, this would be expected, as so few of the poor have the ability to do college-level work. We must accept the fact that equality of opportunity produces the most unequal result.

My poor clients frequently told me they liked to work with their hands. They wanted good-paying, factory jobs. We need to accept the lower quadrant in society as they are and honor their desire for good-paying factory jobs by not outsourcing all the manufacturing jobs overseas. All work is honorable.

These people can contribute to society, but trying to send everyone to college is just setting up a lot of people for failure.
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