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Is adversity always bad? Many times adversity creates more motivated people. That's why so many successful companies are created by smart immigrants, and many t

Is adversity always bad? Many times adversity creates more motivated people. That's why so many successful companies are created by smart immigrants, and many times spoiled rich kids do drugs and end up losing all the money they inherit. Regardless, when we stop looking at merit to judge people's work, we get into a very dangerous territory. Identity politics is cancer.

alphabettsy 7y ago
The problem is that average poor and middle-class kids don’t make it into college at anywhere near the rates wealthy kids do and it has almost nothing to do with their capability. There are a lot of capable people that will never have the same opportunities just by lottery of birth. It’s true they could try to be exceptional, but everyone can’t be and that’s a ridiculous way to attack poverty.
- OCASM 7y ago
  College education isn't the only way to escape poverty. Trade schools are a thing, for example.
  - ccsnags 7y ago
    This is how I started. I became a master technician in multiple fields learning under journeyman and master techs, found a well paying job and went to school on my employers dime. Zero debt. Technical positions requiring trade schools (or often just practical knowledge and a will to learn) pay better than many positions that require a university education.
- cobookman 7y ago
  Socioeconomic mobility doesn’t happen overnight. Maybe the poor kid goes to a trade school moving up from poor to upper middle class. The kid of said person would have a better start...repeat the cycle and after just 2-3 generations you have a Harvard/Stanford graduate This is how many Jews and Asians moved up from being broke poor
  - SolaceQuantum 7y ago
    "Maybe the poor kid goes to a trade school moving up from poor to upper middle class." Isn't mobility actually decreasing?
    - alistairSH 7y ago
      In the US, yes. Income mobility is down both over time and relative to other Western nations.
- nkkollaw 7y ago
  Why don't they though? I'm in Europe and school is free. I also went to college in New Orleans, and my classmates got $700/mo. from the government if they stayed in school (no idea how, though).

alphabettsy 7y ago

The problem is that average poor and middle-class kids don’t make it into college at anywhere near the rates wealthy kids do and it has almost nothing to do with their capability. There are a lot of capable people that will never have the same opportunities just by lottery of birth. It’s true they could try to be exceptional, but everyone can’t be and that’s a ridiculous way to attack poverty.

OCASM 7y ago
College education isn't the only way to escape poverty. Trade schools are a thing, for example.
- ccsnags 7y ago
  This is how I started. I became a master technician in multiple fields learning under journeyman and master techs, found a well paying job and went to school on my employers dime. Zero debt. Technical positions requiring trade schools (or often just practical knowledge and a will to learn) pay better than many positions that require a university education.
cobookman 7y ago
Socioeconomic mobility doesn’t happen overnight. Maybe the poor kid goes to a trade school moving up from poor to upper middle class. The kid of said person would have a better start...repeat the cycle and after just 2-3 generations you have a Harvard/Stanford graduate This is how many Jews and Asians moved up from being broke poor
- SolaceQuantum 7y ago
  "Maybe the poor kid goes to a trade school moving up from poor to upper middle class." Isn't mobility actually decreasing?
  - alistairSH 7y ago
    In the US, yes. Income mobility is down both over time and relative to other Western nations.
nkkollaw 7y ago
Why don't they though? I'm in Europe and school is free. I also went to college in New Orleans, and my classmates got $700/mo. from the government if they stayed in school (no idea how, though).