Quote:
Originally Posted by Mjenn
Well, I happen to agree with your coworker on many of the topics (not inheritance), so I'm probably not the best person to ask, but I don't know if the US is such a shining bastion of upward mobility anymore. Sure, the top earners are, but an interesting study in our morning newspaper -not in english so I cannot post a link, stated that if you were born in the lowest income bracket in the US, you had a 42% chance of staying there.
Compared to Denmark, the highest rated, you only had a 25% chance and Sweden a 26% chance - both countries that, while not socialist, have a great deal of social welfare programs and high tax rates.
I personally think this is due to free university level education more so than anything else, at least that is what I have seen amongst my friends who have moved up the ladder here....
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You can't compare the USA with the Nanny states of Denmark and Sweden. Over there you have to try very hard to stay poor because of all the socialistic entitlements. In contrast, the USA has less of those, so again your comparision is unfair.
The reason folks coming out of poor families in the USA are more likely to be poor themselves is NOT a lack of opportunitie or lack of entitlements.
The reason is this:
Mom and dad (if there is a dad) is either on crack, or lazy, an alcoholic, or uneducated, or would rather watch TV then attend night school, or loves to party, or works overtime to keep that gangsta Chrysler 300 with $3,000 spinning wheels, allows their kids to stay up past 11pm on school nights, does not champion their education, nor participates in their children's lives....the list goes on and no....
Democrats, socialists, and liberals love to blame society for the ills of the poor...and at the end of the day, and in most cases, the fault lands squarely on each poor adult person.