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Other comments have brought additional evidence about declining wage mobility. I'll add that the article's stats about the impact of race demonstrate lack of m
by evrydayhustling 9y ago
Other comments have brought additional evidence about declining wage mobility. I'll add that the article's stats about the impact of race demonstrate lack of mobility. Working while black seems to mean a 20% pay cut, regardless of education.
As an American, I've always based a lot of national pride on our history as a (relative, for some groups) meritocracy with a lot of mobility. It's really sad to see rapid erosion of this over the last 20y.
- marnett 9y agoMost opportunities for mobility were linked to America being a nation of rapid growth, not because of the kindness of some national ethos. As our growth opportunities slow, you can be sure the haves will do everything in their power to prevent loss of ground to the have-nots.
- cmurf 9y agoMeritocracy in the U.S. is a myth in civilian life. The military almost approximates meritocracy but it is by design not egalitarian or democratic. Without extreme discipline, again found in militarism, meritocracy results in the formation of elites who define what the metrics are for merit, they quickly become corrupt with nepotism, lowering the ladder for family and friends to the exclusion of people with actual merit, and it becomes incompetent. https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/06/the-perils-of-meritocracy/532215/ https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/06/th...