> But would he [Elon Musk] have been able to afford to study in the US? Yes, because he did study in the US, at the University of Pennsylvania (http://en.wikip

> But would he [Elon Musk] have been able to afford to study in the US? Yes, because he did study in the US, at the University of Pennsylvania (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk#Early_life http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk#Early_life). Granted he had a scholarship, but people like Elon Musk tend to get scholarships. For regular Americans state schools are affordable w/ government loans. > The science says that social mobility is much higher in other countries like Denmark than in the US No offence to Denmark but I can't imagine that many immigrants chose to immigrate there instead of the US because of social mobility scores. By definition most immigrants are ambitious, or at least willing to risk leaving their country of birth for the possibility of greater opportunities elsewhere.