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May 21, 2013
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 American Social Mobility Ain’t What It Used to BePosted on Jan 5, 2012
This will hardly be news to many, but The New York Times weighed in Wednesday about the American dream being harder to achieve for those occupying the lower socioeconomic levels of society than either their wealthier contemporaries or their counterparts from past eras. Hence, the rise of a certain Occupy movement in recent months. Thank you, New York Times. —KA
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By Salome, January 7, 2012 at 12:10 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Funny how, as more and more black Americans began to be able to play the “meritocracy” game, rung after rung on the middle class ladder has been removed.
Report thisA high school diploma used to be sufficient for a middle class job.
After 1954, as more and more black Americans graduated from high school, the basic requirement for a middle class job became an undergraduate degree.
After 1964, as more and more black Americans graduated from college, the basic requirement became a graduate degree.
After 1984, the cost of college exploded exponentially so that as more and more black Americans acquired graduate degrees, they also acquired immobilizing debt.
After 1994, the basic requirement became having an “internship” (unpaid, of course) on your resume.
After 2004, as more and more black Americans navigated the immoral internship terrain, the basic requirement shifted from educational credentials to possessing sterling financial credit (even for jobs having nothing to do with money).
Lately, those who are unemployed are being barred from consideration for some employment beause they are, ta-da, unemployed.
Additionally, the drumbeat has now been activated to expedite immigration for “high IQ immigrants” (note: not highly-educated immigrants because most of those come from sub-Saharan Africa). With the result that, lacking the desirable demographics, employers will be able to bypass black, brown, beige American applicants, and fill positions of power, perks, and privilege with white-skinned immigrants from elsewhere.
As has been the case throughout U.S. history: an agenda aiming to deny opportunity to poor black Americans ensnares everybody, denying class mobility to all poor Americans.
By Lafayette, January 7, 2012 at 12:22 am Link to this comment
PROGRESSIVE CHANGE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
Americans enjoy less economic mobility than their peers in Canada and much of Western Europe.
This finding has been kicked around in economic discussions for quite some time. It’s an unfortunate circumstance, but easily understandable.
Americans wanted the public education system that they’ve got and we are transiting economic paradigms (from the Industrial to the Information Age) where skills are ever more important. Besides, the un- and semi-skilled jobs (that used to employ those who were either not smart enough to go further in their education or too lazy) have skipped town towards the Far East.
So, given the high cost of tertiary education (vocational, college, university) more and more Americans are being left by the wayside on the Highway of Life. Not yet road-kill, but almost.
See this OECD info-graphic here, which shows clearly the link between father-and-son incomes. Meaning what? Meaning that those born at the bottom remain at the bottom of the economic totem pole.
One’s economic prospects in life are a matter of birth? You betcha ...
SO?
How do European countries escape such “near-death” economic and therefore social contexts?
By a bit of Social Justice - governments assume the responsibility for both educating their youth (throughout the primary, secondary and tertiary cycles) at the lowest personal cost possible. Also, they assure that when older they are not sidelined (or sunk) economically by an expensive illness.
The Yanks wanted to leave both of Education and Health Care, both key necessities, to “private enterprise” - so they must assume the consequences of higher-costs for even the most rudimentary of qualifications sought by a labor market that has long-since left low-skilled jobs to under-achievers (where most of our unemployment resides). As for Health Care, forget it - we are not even world-class, given the numbers who remain uninsured.
Ours is a service-based economy (by about 70% of GDP), where the better jobs require enhanced skills.
There are some jobs that cannot be exported. Heavy construction being one. Meaning without government Stimulus Spending, this work remains in the doldrums. Let us thank the T-Party (T for Troglodyte) that we, the sheeple, elected apathetically into control of Congress at the midterms.
MY POINT
Wanna blame Obama? Be my guest. Wanna blame the banksters? Ditto. Wanna blame the Replicants? Way to go!
Don’t wanna blame our own naiveness, that blind faith we have had in a political clique? Then we do so at our own peril.
Get off your duff and militate for change. Progressive change. It’s a very difficult road to embark upon, but far better than the one to perdition.
Report thisBy bpawk, January 6, 2012 at 10:33 am Link to this comment
Americans don’t identify with their own class and interests but instead celebrate rich people’s success, hoping the stardust will sprinkle onto them as they gush over them (secretly hoping they too one day will become rich therefore they don’t criticize the system where there are few winners with the majority losers). I got news for you: The rich people’s success is theirs only, not yours so don’t pay attention to millionaire celebrities, ball players, actors, ... they don’t want to get involved in your life except take your money for that next big game or big film coming out - you are just a FANatic with money to them - it would be better for the 99% to put their energy making the world a better fairer place for all (or at least their own country). Rich usually marry rich, poor usually marry poor… if that doesn’t show an acknowledged class difference, I don’t know what does!
Report thisBy California Ray, January 6, 2012 at 9:27 am Link to this comment
The U.S.A. is a failed state. We just don’t see it. There is too much economic inequality, too many guns, too much corporate influence, and too much religion. The gun culture is not going to evolve itself out of existence. Evangelicals aren’t either. Since the mass media are corporate vehicles spewing out alluring corporate messages 24/7, don’t look for the voters to grasp the need to curb corporate power or the concentration of wealth. Where will these enduring cultural traits take the U.S.A. Without a reboot, over a cliff. The Civil War was a reboot. One hopes another American civil war be avoided, but how?
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