America's Upward Mobility Problem
In the last few days I have read several articles regarding income inequality and upward mobilty among the various sectors of US society. Paul Ryan was even asked about it during his speech at Heritage. Then I read an article by Rich Lowry at National Review Online this morning and this line stood out:
If Americans finished high school, worked full-time at a job that matched their skills, and married at the rate they did in the 1970s, the poverty rate would be cut by 70 percent.
It seems to me that we are becoming a class based society, but not because of Wall Street. Millions of Americans from all races and ethnicities are shooting themselves in the foot by having children out of wedlock and dropping out of school. Then their children do the same thing and it becomes self perpetuating.
Politicians (especially Republicans) are terrified of addressing this because when you say "out of wedlock births" or "drop out rate" liberals scream DOG WHISTLE. They automatically associate those terms with racial minorities. But the numbers tell a different story. It has become acceptable and in some cases celebrated (on TV, movies and glowing news stories) to be a single mom or an absentee father.
Unless there is a huge cultural shift in the US in the near future, this trend will not only continue, but get exponentially worse. It is a crying shame that no one has the guts to speak plainly about it.
- Comment (13)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (2)
Comments :
Feb '11
Re: America's Upward Mobility Problem
One of the main inhibitors of social mobiity today is the excessive reverence for college-based credential, increasingly graduate-level. There are plenty of people whose skills, knowledge, and abilities are prevented from full use because of the absence of the magic piece of paper.
It's ironic: one of the reasons for the expansion of funding to university education in the first place, viz the GI Bill, was the argument that it would *improve* social mobility. It indeed did, for a while, but the education obsession is now having th eopposite effect.
May '11
Re: America's Upward Mobility Problem
I agree, but hasnt a a college degree become so sought after by employers because a high school diploma from many parts of the country is essentially worthless? How many times have you read about the large percentages of college students who have to take remedial English and Math courses because they graduated from high school as functional illiterates?
There has been a huge dumbing down of society because of the fear of holding people accountable for their own actions and choices, lest they be labeled as racist or some other type of bigot. The sad result though is that those who are held least accountable are the ones who are falling behind the most.
Aug '10
Re: America's Upward Mobility Problem
People are having children out of wedlock because wedlock is dissappearing. I would guestimate that nowadays 80-90% of couples live together before getting married, this despite studies which show such couples have a much higher chance of getting divorced than those who don't shack-up before marriage.
This casual attitude about marriage is devastating to our society. All the rest of the stuff we talk about on this site is just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic...
May '11
Re: America's Upward Mobility Problem
College graduates and high income earners are getting married and staying married at very high rates. Everyone else is either getting divorced at alarming levels or not bothering to get married at all, regardless of whether or not they have children.
The bar is being lowered in our country so much and our governement thinks that the solution is to keep throwing money at people in the form of transfer payments. It is only creating more dependancy
depressing.
May '10
Re: America's Upward Mobility Problem
A quick aside on this topic: Rick Santorum is not going to be president, nor is he going to be the Republican nominee. He deserves kudos, however, for being the only candidate to speak clearly and effectively about this problem and its wide-ranging effects.
Dec '10
Re: America's Upward Mobility Problem
I was going to make note of this if no one else did. Santorum is a lone voice on this issue, which is largely ignored, I think, not only because it's a third rail, but because it's unclear how to remedy it through public policy. I'm also reminded of the Dan Quayle / Murphy Brown dust up so long ago. Seems we've made no progress on this front at all.
Oct '10
Re: America's Upward Mobility Problem
There's another reason: HR people are no longer allowed to administer ability tests, because bien pensants cry racism when certain "protected categories" fail to do as well as what I suppose we should call "unprotected categories"). Hence, we now ID the people who can solve 9 x 7 by asking if they graduated from college. Colleges seem to be responding by graduating people who can solve 9 x 7, and little else.
May '10
Re: America's Upward Mobility Problem
Just back from a trip that took us through a number of countries including the Czsech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary, I was struck there by the shattered social structure left by 70 years of Communist preaching against God and the moral values that spring from religion.
Our country is experiencing the same thing except that we have allowed our "cultural elites" to do it to us and we have politely stood by and watched it happen wbecause we are afraid of what certain others -- themedia and the cultural elites, in particular --might say about us.
What we have witnessed is no less than the logical result of moral cowardice. "All that is necessary for the ultimate triumph of evil is for a few good men to do nothing."
Edited on Oct 28, 2011 at 11:08pmFeb '11
Re: America's Upward Mobility Problem
I believe Charles Murray has been trying to sound the alarm about this for some time: http://www.aei.org/event/100281
Jan '11
Re: America's Upward Mobility Problem
Joe M: College graduates and high income earners are getting married and staying married at very high rates. Everyone else is either getting divorced at alarming levels or not bothering to get married at all, regardless of whether or not they have children.
The bar is being lowered in our country so much and our governement thinks that the solution is to keep throwing money at people in the form of transfer payments. It is only creating more dependancy
depressing. · Oct 28 at 11:30am
I believe I read that same article (can't recall where) but I was astounded! If I recall correctly, they stated that college graduates were marrying and staying married with a 4% divorice rate - I had a hard time believing it and was devastated that so many people are eschewing traditional family formation.
Apr '11
Re: America's Upward Mobility Problem
I assume everyone on Ricochet has read The Bell Curve?
As J.D. noted above, employers are prohibited from testing prospective employees. Except that isn't quite right; tests of general intelligence are forbidden, but tests specifically tailored to job requirements are permitted. In actuality though, few employers will spend the time and money required to develop those special tests, which may still result in lawsuits for them, and instead substitute a college degree as a measure of g (general intelligence).
I recently interviewed the head of a think tank for a class I'm taking. One thing I asked was qualifications for employment. He said he could think of no position that would require less than a bachelor's degree (although they do take student interns).
Well, if Einstein showed up without a degree, looking for a job, how would the executive director know Einstein is the greatest thinker he's likely to meet, since he's prohibited from confirming the guy is a genius by intelligence testing?
Jul '10
Re: America's Upward Mobility Problem
Thousands of people from my hometown commented in recent months on what it was like to grow up there. The posts were overwhelmingly positive.
One post stood out to me, however. Amidst the reverie a person I'll call Bob commented, "You all must have grown up in a different town than I remember." I was interested in this comment not only because it swam against the tide, but because I knew Bob.
Bob and I went to high school together. We had the same homeroom, but Bob disappeared some time during 10th grade. He dropped out.
This went through my mind, of course, when I saw the post. I wanted to ask him how he could hold a community responsible for his bad decisions.
Bob bemoans the lack of good jobs there today. If he maintains the character I remember, I suspect he hasn't done a thing to help himself.
I didn't reply to his comment. Some others agreed with him. I'm sorry for them. I grew up in a great town, a community that had real civic spirit...until guys like Bob snuffed it out.
May '10
Re: America's Upward Mobility Problem
The 70% figure, wonder how they came to that. Is it a static analysis? In other words, if there were more educated people in the workforce, wouldn't the market, at some point, run out of jobs? Yes, I know the supply, and not just the demand side would change, but I always wonder about these grand what-if statements...