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It appears that you choose to wear blinders in view of evidence that proves otherwise.
The Horatio Alger stories are not the general rule. Sure, a kid in the ghetto may end up in the NBA and leave the ghetto but the fact is that the best indicator of what your paycheck will be is the paycheck of your father. That's not income mobility.
I'm not talking about a ghetto kid getting to the NBA. I'm talking about the millions of Americans like me and many of my friends who inherited nothing but have worked hard to achieve a very comfortable life for ourselves.
It happens over and over and over again in the USA and it's available to every healthy kid with average intelligence.
Income mobility is the opportunity to improve ones' economic status. Obviously, educated parents generally do a better job of helping their kids choose to take advantage of opportunities. That will never change. Parenting does matter.
It doesn't bother me at all to see that good parenting produces better economic results. Government programs will never replace good parenting.
1) Anecdotal examples do not an understanding of society as a whole make.
2) Due to technology, everyone is living better but that wasn't the question related to mobility. The question is how many people in their class rung break out of their class rung? The data suggests that the vast majority do not.
One metric I use to measure decline is the frequency of the use of anecdotal evidence. When it becomes more frequent, its a sign of social slippage and lack of education.
the economic lot of the other 99 % of us in society is deteriorating, replaced by accelerated stratification. It's a culture where the rich stay rich -- and everyone else does a little worse, each day.
This thread is a great example of what happens when you choose to cling to ignorant beliefs no matter how much contradictory evidence stares you in the face.
The fact of the matter is, the American dream has always been largely a myth, and now the realities are so stark that desperate people want to pretend that there aren't millions of people who work hard (everything isn't attributable to laziness, as so many of you all want it to be) and still struggle to stay afloat, much less move up. Social mobility in America is not flourishing, and anyone who tries to convince themselves otherwise is deluding themselves.
More like cognitive dissonance. He disregards data because it interferes with his preconceived conclusions.
You haven't yet shown us any data that supports your claim that there are social mobility barriers in the USA.
Maybe because it's not true. Maybe it's because millions of Americans climb the social ladder without more government programs.... and that is bad news for Big Government advocates.
Great graph on Krugman's blog that shows how when income inequality rises, social mobility decreases.
The USA is the worst of the worst.
Roadking wants to bury his head in the sand and pretend this isn't happening.
He sneers at these countries where it is easier to get ahead in life if you work hard. Ignorance or dishonesty?
Correlation and causation are two entirely different things, and we all know Krugman's agenda. EVERY problem needs a government solution in his mind, and he loves big government. In fact, government cannot get big enough to make him happy.
And I haven't sneered at any country. You just don't understand that other countries have different demographics than the USA. Even with exactly the same government programs you would get different results.
So whose head is buried in the sand? Is it possible that you just want more government programs to address your agenda? I think so.
This thread is a great example of what happens when you choose to cling to ignorant beliefs no matter how much contradictory evidence stares you in the face.
What evidence would that be?
Quote:
The fact of the matter is, the American dream has always been largely a myth, and now the realities are so stark that desperate people want to pretend that there aren't millions of people who work hard (everything isn't attributable to laziness, as so many of you all want it to be) and still struggle to stay afloat, much less move up. Social mobility in America is not flourishing, and anyone who tries to convince themselves otherwise is deluding themselves.
How can it be a myth when millions and millions of Americans achieve it? How can I be deluding myself when I have achieved it? Along with my kids and my friends?
You haven't yet shown us any data that supports your claim that there are social mobility barriers in the USA.
Maybe because it's not true. Maybe it's because millions of Americans climb the social ladder without more government programs.... and that is bad news for Big Government advocates.
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