DATE: Monday, July 7, 1997                  TAG: 9707030032

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B8   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Editorial 

                                            LENGTH:   48 lines

ECONOMIC DIVIDE THE FORGOTTEN MAJORITY

Are we turning into two nations economically? It's worth worrying about. The bulwark of democratic capitalism has always been a large, stable middle class where upward mobility is a reasonable expectation.

But for some time there's been concern about the erosion of that ideal. Various forces, including knowledge-based jobs and global competition, could lead to an economy divided between haves and have-nots.

A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found evidence of two cultures with sharply diverging views on important issues. There is a high level of satisfaction across the board with current economic conditions. That's reasonable given the halcyon conditions in which we find ourselves. There was also wide agreement that things are better than four years ago, but also agreement on the less cheerful notion that we are producing mostly low-paying jobs.

On a couple of bellwether issues, there was disagreement. Respondents were asked whether immigration has a positive or negative effect on the economy. Those who viewed it negatively earned under $50,000 a year and were blue-collar workers. Those who viewed it positively earned over $75,000 and performed professional or managerial tasks. In other words, those in a position to hire immigrants favor immigration. Those likely to be competing with immigrants for jobs don't.

Similarly, when asked if an increasingly global economy is a good thing or bad, those who said it is good earned over $50K in managerial positions and were college graduates. Those with doubts were from rural locations, blacks, women, those earning under $50,000 in blue-collar jobs and those with a high school education or less.

This has the making of a classic fault line in politics. Populists like Pat Buchanan have tried to exploit such fears. The current fight over a tax bill is being conducted along this divide, with Clinton insisting on more money for the middle class and the GOP in danger of defining itself as the party of capital gains and inherited wealth.

The real issues that ought to be debated often are ignored. At the top of he list is how to achieve competitive advantage without leaving a sizable fraction of the American work force behind. And a large part of the answer must be improved education, job training, apprenticeships, school-to-work partnerships - all aimed at the 75 percent of Americans who don't become college graduates. Because the issue gets so little attention, it's no wonder those who feel themselves on the wrong side of the economic divide are increasingly fearful.

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