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Social mobility in the US is, by now, smaller than in many other developed countries, IIRC. EDIT to add some sources: > The key observation, based on a growin

by FabHK 7y ago

Social mobility in the US is, by now, smaller than in many other developed countries, IIRC. EDIT to add some sources: > The key observation, based on a growing body of research, is that when it comes to upward social mobility, the U.S. is truly exceptional — that is, it performs exceptionally badly. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/28/opinion/ivanka-trump-social-mobility.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/28/opinion/ivanka-trump-soci... > Although the discovery of America’s low mobility, compared to similar countries, is relatively new, it turns out that mobility’s been low for some time. http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/us-social-mobility-problem http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/us-social-mobility-problem > A new study indicates that from the 1980s to the 2000s, it became less likely that a worker could move up the income ladder. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/07/social-mobility-america/491240/ https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/07/social-...

dantheman 7y ago
It's hard to compare, you have perfect mobility when everyone is dirt poor. In the USA it's possible for people to get really rich, so measuring how many from the very bottom make it to the very top is not a good metric; especially when composing to other countries whose top is in the middle. So if you compare mobility between income ranges you will find the US to be more mobile.
- jonathankoren 7y ago
  Not only is this shifting the goal posts, it’s also whataboutism. This is a distraction from the problem of wealth concentration and lack of mobility in the United States by saying: Yeah, well, you’re richer than the Haitians, so quit whining. Being part of the largest economy in the world, I would certainly hope the poorest in my country, would be better off than the those in the least developed country in the Western Hemisphere.
- monocasa 7y ago
  Every country has a rich upper class.
  - dantheman 7y ago
    You need 10 million to be in the top 1% in the US and 700k to be in the top 1% in the UK. There's a big difference between going from 0 net worth to 700k than to 10 million.

by FabHK 7y ago

dantheman 7y ago

It's hard to compare, you have perfect mobility when everyone is dirt poor. In the USA it's possible for people to get really rich, so measuring how many from the very bottom make it to the very top is not a good metric; especially when composing to other countries whose top is in the middle. So if you compare mobility between income ranges you will find the US to be more mobile.

jonathankoren 7y ago
Not only is this shifting the goal posts, it’s also whataboutism. This is a distraction from the problem of wealth concentration and lack of mobility in the United States by saying: Yeah, well, you’re richer than the Haitians, so quit whining. Being part of the largest economy in the world, I would certainly hope the poorest in my country, would be better off than the those in the least developed country in the Western Hemisphere.
monocasa 7y ago
Every country has a rich upper class.
- dantheman 7y ago
  You need 10 million to be in the top 1% in the US and 700k to be in the top 1% in the UK. There's a big difference between going from 0 net worth to 700k than to 10 million.