PART 4: THE DECLINE OF AMERICAN UPWARD MOBILITY
What is upward mobility and why is it important to all
Americans. For several centuries or
more, America was built on its immigrants from all over the world. They came because
with hard work there was a chance to succeed, they would become better off than
in their home country.
America was the “land of opportunity,” where they could have
property, an education, be healthier, and had a better job. Americans expect, believe, or hope that with
intelligence and skill they would be rewarded and be better off than before. Up
until the 21st century, for the most part the next generation of Americans was
better off than their parents, at least better educated and with a better
standard of living.
To insure upward mobility, equal opportunity in the US
became the law of the land, where everyone has an equal chance to housing,
education and succeed and become rich if they so desire, no matter race,
ethnicity, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.
The importance of upward mobility means that children from
poor or middle class families can graduate from college at the same rate as
those from rich families. But, as Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz pointed out in
his book The Price of Inequity, the underinvestment by the US in public
education “has contributed to the decline in economic mobility.”[1]
Likewise, Alan Krueger’s (Chairman of the Council of
Economic Advisers to the US President) spoke on “The
Rise and Consequences of Inequality in the United States”, given at the
Center for American Progress on January 12. Krueger’s central argument
that persistently rising income inequality is likely to lead to inequality of
opportunity.
The US middle class was built on the ability of upward
mobility, a key to fulfilling the American Dream. However, we now see that this
is fast becoming a myth and no longer the norm as shown below from studies
conducted in the US and abroad.
Some believe “We are an upwardly mobile
society with a lot of movement between income groups[2]” but, in fact, over the past decade, social
mobility has stalled. For some racial
groups, the situation is worse. Not only that, compared to the US, there is greater opportunity for
upward mobility in many other countries much more so than in the US currently.
To understand how this has happened along with various
trends and details, please visit the website for the Center for Community Futures click on the downloadable PDF file.
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