The Death of Horatio Alger by PAUL KRUGMAN [from the Nation, January 5,
2004 issue]
This article can be found on the web at
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20040105&s=krugman
The other day I found myself reading a leftist rag that made outrageous
claims about America. It said that we are becoming a society in which the
poor tend to stay poor, no matter how hard they work; in which sons are
much more likely to inherit the socioeconomic status of their father than
they were a generation ago.
The name of the leftist rag? Business Week, which published an article
titled "Waking Up From the American Dream." The article summarizes recent
research showing that social mobility in the United States (which was
never as high as legend had it) has declined considerably over the past
few decades. If you put that research together with other research that
shows a drastic increase in income and wealth inequality, you reach an
uncomfortable conclusion: America looks more and more like a class-ridden
society...
Happy New Year!
dr
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