As seventh-graders at Seiko Gakuin in Yokohama, we are currently discussing the gap between the rich and the poor, researching all of the things that cause this social problem.
We think that one solution is making education cheaper. Some causes of the gap include lack of education for the poor, machines taking over jobs and companies shifting toward cheaper pay.
All of these causes can be solved by providing proper education to the poor. Research shows that in 2010, 75 percent of Americans thought that a college education is important. However, a poll that was taken in 2014 showed that only 44 percent of Americans considered a college education important.
One reason for this decrease is that college tuition is too expensive. In other words, if college fees were cheaper, students would be more inclined to think that college is worthwhile.
In other research, 77 percent of parents said that it was most likely that they would send their children to college, but four years later this rate had dropped to 69 percent.
This leads to our solution that governments should assist schools in making education more affordable. By making education cheaper, people who are poor can go to college. By going to college, there are more job opportunities. Not only are there more opportunities, there are more jobs that pay better than others.
In conclusion, we think that in order to solve the problem of the gap between the poor and the rich, we need to make education more available for the poor.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.