Is America the "land of opportunity"? Not so much.
A new report from the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) finds that social mobility between generations is dramatically lower in the U.S. than in many other developed countries.
So if you want your children to climb the socioeconomic ladder higher than you did, move to Canada.
the main cause of social immobility is educational opportunity. It turns out that America's public school system, rather than lifting children up, is instead holding them down.
Another big factor in social mobility is inequality, the report finds. The greater a nation's inequality, the harder it is for its children to improve their lot.
"Given that we have more inequality in the U.S. right now than at any time since the 1920s, we should be concerned that this may become a vicious cycle. Inequality in one generation may mean less opportunity for the next generation to get ahead and thus still more inequality in the future."
And the goal of reducing barriers to social mobility isn't just a moral imperative, it's an economic necessity, the OECD notes. "First, less mobile societies are more likely to waste or misallocate human skills and talents. Second, lack of equal opportunity may affect the motivation, effort and, ultimately, the productivity of citizens, with adverse effects on the overall efficiency and the growth potential of the economy."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/0..._n_501788.html
We just need to throw more money at that problem.
Yep, I agree.
Didn't a recent report say these bailouts produced one job for every $282k? We need to throw so much more money out than we already have.
"Didn't a recent report say these bailouts produced one job for every $282k"
which report? which bailout? the Wall St bailout?
I didn't see it, but it very recently came out of the CBO. Just heard about it on the news a few days ago. Didn't look for it either.
OK, just did a simple search. My dyslexia was kicking it. It was $228 k/job not $282 k.
Estimated Impact of the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act on
Employment and Economic Output from
October 2010 Through December 2010
Do the math.
International comparisons indicate that intergenerational mobility in Britain is of the same order of magnitude as in the US, but that these countries are substantially less mobile than Canada and the Nordic countries. Germany also looks to be more mobile than the UK and US, but a small sample size prevents us drawing a firm conclusion.We waste so many children's potential in ty schools it is almost criminal.Implications
International comparisons of intergenerational mobility show that Britain, like the United States, is at the lower end of international comparisons of mobility. Also intergenerational mobility has declined in Britain at a time of rising income inequality. The strength of the relationship between educational attainment and family income, especially for access to higher education, is at the heart of Britain’s low mobility culture. If improving intergenerational mobility is viewed as desirable, this clearly suggests that from early ages, including prior to school entry, Britain needs to adopt a strategy to equalize opportunities. This should apply at all stages of the education process, and include support during the early years, for both parents and children; policies to improve the performance of deprived children in schools; and steps to promote participation at the post-compulsory level. Such policies have the potential to enhance intergenerational mobility by ensuring greater equality of educational opportunity.
We can, and should, do better.
The American Revolution was overturned. That this country has almost as less social mobility as class conscious Britain says it all.
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