If California’s economy favors the educated, why do the poor earn fewer degrees?

Possessing a college degree in California is more valuable than ever.

It often indicates whether someone has a stable job and if their employer offers paid vacation or health benefits. For many, the degree is the difference between poverty and the middle class. And its value, since at least 2000, has only increased year after year, according to a new report by the Public Policy Institute of California.