PUBLIC AFFAIRS We conducted an exclusive telephone interview with United States Senator Kamala Harris, who is a Democrat from California, and is campaigning as a 2020 Presidential Candidate. The interview took place on April 10, 2019. Celeste: Good afternoon, Senator Harris. Iowans value an education. During my experience in education, I have observed an expanding view that education is a partnership consisting of educators, students, and parents within an increasingly diverse community. If any of these partners were out of harmony, with respect to your vision for education, what would you do to bring the partnership back into balance? Senator Harris: That’s a wonderful question. I’ll start by saying that it has been a lifelong priority for me to focus on the need and the importance of educating our children and our young people. My first grade teacher, Mrs. Frances Wilson, attended my law school graduation. I would not be where I am today as a member of the United States Senate were it not for two things: 1) the family that raised me; and 2) the teachers that raised me. So, it is a really high priority for me. In terms of what you’re talking about, the harmony and relationship between parents and teachers, and of course the education of our children, I think it is a critical relationship. Part of my plan for what we can do to improve that is to close the teacher pay gap. I am meeting teachers around our country who are working two, sometimes three jobs. In Iowa, more than 16% of teachers work a second job. What I know is that they not only need to put food on the table and pay their bills, but like 90% of the teachers in our country they are coming out of their own pocket to pay for school supplies. So, we have to close the teacher pay gap that is currently at 10%, meaning that teachers make, on average, 10% less than similarly educated college graduates. The teacher pay gap in Iowa equals $12,200 a year. As we all know, $12,200 a year is the equivalent of a year’s worth of mortgage payments, $12,200 a year is equivalent to a year’s worth of grocery bills, $12,200 a year is equivalent to putting a significant dent in student loan debt. So, I am proposing, what will be for the first time in our nation, a federal investment in teacher pay. The relationship between that and what you pointed out, Celeste, is that teachers working two or three jobs means that teachers are not able to do the kind of after-school and weekend work, that often teachers want to do, that can focus on the relationships (associated) with working parents. It means, when we close that teacher pay gap, teachers will have more time to invest in what that want to do around professional development, skills development, and being creative about how they engage not only the children in their classroom, but also the community in which those children live. So, that is how I think about that. Gary: With respect to income, would you please explain the ‘LIFT the Middle Class Act’ and how it would benefit Iowans? Senator Harris: What I am proposing is what economists have described as the largest income tax cut for middle-class families in generations. Specifically, I am proposing that families making less than $100,000 per year get a tax credit of up to $6,000 per year, and can collect $500 of that each month. Putting that in context, almost half of American families today are a $400 unexpected expense away from complete upheaval. So, what I am proposing would allow those working families to be able to get through the month without concern about whether they can do so successfully. People having a $400 unexpected emergency, causing upheaval in that family, is equivalent to an unexpected car repair bill or a hospital bill that people didn’t see coming. The fact is this economy in America is not working for working people, so I am proposing, again, what economists have described as what will be the most significant middle class tax cut in generations. May 2019 The URBAN EXPERIENCE 33
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