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This all speaks to a calcification of opportunity in the USA where coming from a good family background (with strong educational opportunities) means opportunit

This all speaks to a calcification of opportunity in the USA where coming from a good family background (with strong educational opportunities) means opportunities abound. If you come from a disadvantaged background, you are likely to stay there. This is essentially meritocratic feudalism.

jeffdavis 8y ago
How did you get that from the article?
ForHackernews 8y ago
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/06/the-hoarding-of-the-american-dream/530481/ https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/06/the-hoa... > They then pass those advantages onto their children, with parents placing a “glass floor” under their kids. They ensure they grow up in nice zip codes, provide social connections that make a difference when entering the labor force, help with internships, aid with tuition and home-buying, and schmooze with college admissions officers. All the while, they support policies and practices that protect their economic position and prevent poorer kids from climbing the income ladder: legacy admissions, the preferential tax treatment of investment income, 529 college savings plans, exclusionary zoning, occupational licensing, and restrictions on the immigration of white-collar professionals.
- hash872 8y ago
  The belief system here makes me incredulous. How exactly does the average upper middle class worker support 'occupational licensing' and 'restrictions on the immigration of white-collar professionals'? Can you outline the exact steps that they've taken to, say, support occupational licensing? When did a pro-occupational licensing candidate run for office? The latter is especially ironic because so many people believe the opposite, that the US has supported the H1B and other visa programs to drive down programmer wages. While I agree that superior education etc. absolutely helps the children of the upper middle class, the 'social connections' part is pure fantasy. The vast majority of regular people secure employment based on actual credentials and not 'connections', especially in tech
  - usaar333 8y ago
    All of this is covered in Dream Horders (the linked book). Occupational licensing is a weaker argument (it's not covered in Reeve's original nytimes article: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/10/opinion/sunday/stop-pretending-youre-not-rich.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/10/opinion/sunday/stop-prete...), but there's something to be said for how expensive it is to get through medical or law school (in part due to licensing requirements). I haven't read the book, but I imagine immigration and licensing connect. It's known to be difficult for foreign-trained doctors to ramp up in the US (https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-03-26/highly-trained-and-educated-some-foreign-born-doctors-still-can-t-practice https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-03-26/highly-trained-and-ed...) and lawyers have difficulties just changing states due to state-level bar exams.
  - ForHackernews 8y ago
    > The vast majority of regular people secure employment based on actual credentials and not 'connections', especially in tech Is that really true? Anecdotally, I have been far, far more likely (perhaps 95% of the time vs <25% of the time) to secure an interview at a company when I get a referral from a current employee who I know socially than when I apply blind through some web application form. I'd be very surprised to hear if you've had a different experience.

jeffdavis 8y ago

How did you get that from the article?

ForHackernews 8y ago

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/06/the-hoarding-of-the-american-dream/530481/ https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/06/the-hoa... > They then pass those advantages onto their children, with parents placing a “glass floor” under their kids. They ensure they grow up in nice zip codes, provide social connections that make a difference when entering the labor force, help with internships, aid with tuition and home-buying, and schmooze with college admissions officers. All the while, they support policies and practices that protect their economic position and prevent poorer kids from climbing the income ladder: legacy admissions, the preferential tax treatment of investment income, 529 college savings plans, exclusionary zoning, occupational licensing, and restrictions on the immigration of white-collar professionals.

hash872 8y ago
The belief system here makes me incredulous. How exactly does the average upper middle class worker support 'occupational licensing' and 'restrictions on the immigration of white-collar professionals'? Can you outline the exact steps that they've taken to, say, support occupational licensing? When did a pro-occupational licensing candidate run for office? The latter is especially ironic because so many people believe the opposite, that the US has supported the H1B and other visa programs to drive down programmer wages. While I agree that superior education etc. absolutely helps the children of the upper middle class, the 'social connections' part is pure fantasy. The vast majority of regular people secure employment based on actual credentials and not 'connections', especially in tech
- usaar333 8y ago
  All of this is covered in Dream Horders (the linked book). Occupational licensing is a weaker argument (it's not covered in Reeve's original nytimes article: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/10/opinion/sunday/stop-pretending-youre-not-rich.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/10/opinion/sunday/stop-prete...), but there's something to be said for how expensive it is to get through medical or law school (in part due to licensing requirements). I haven't read the book, but I imagine immigration and licensing connect. It's known to be difficult for foreign-trained doctors to ramp up in the US (https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-03-26/highly-trained-and-educated-some-foreign-born-doctors-still-can-t-practice https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-03-26/highly-trained-and-ed...) and lawyers have difficulties just changing states due to state-level bar exams.
- ForHackernews 8y ago
  > The vast majority of regular people secure employment based on actual credentials and not 'connections', especially in tech Is that really true? Anecdotally, I have been far, far more likely (perhaps 95% of the time vs <25% of the time) to secure an interview at a company when I get a referral from a current employee who I know socially than when I apply blind through some web application form. I'd be very surprised to hear if you've had a different experience.