Rags to Riches?

[Art Sandusky 0]

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews....MY-MOBILITY.xml

 

America is no longer the land of opportunity, and that's sad.

[The Thread Killer 0]

I disagree with this study. First off, the base was only 4,000 people which as any Sociologist would tell you is too small to make this kind of assumption.

 

Secondly, the article admits that the survey did not include immigrants. The whole basis of the "land of opprotunity" claim is that somebody could come to America and live a better life than they did in their home country. This article claims that life in Europe could be better than in the USA. I don't think a lot of people flee Europe to come to the USA for a new life, not now anyhow. After WWII, sure. One of the reasons that America is looked upon as a land of opprotunity is because of the freedoms it offers, and tax cuts etc. don't have anything to do with that.

 

It's still a fact, if you legally come to America, you will have freedom and chances that a lot of other countries will not provide. While I'm sure life in certain Europen countries is great, there are social factors which may offset the economic disadvantages this article attempts to point out. Somebody get Poppick in here, stat.

 

The whole "poor people remain poor" argument is probably more of an issue of encouraging dependence on government programs rather then independence, and the fact that the poor don't have access to a high quality of education. Poor people need to be properly educated in order to improve their lot in life...and if they aren't then yes, they'll stay poor.

 

I don't think that makes America any less the land of opprotunity.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Differences between Europe and the US: Europeans typically pay more taxes, make less money, and live in smaller living spaces. However, they generally have more free time and work less than Americans. (Well, at least in Western Europe).

[Red Baron 0]

Arnold did it.

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

The Economist had a similar article a while back:

 

http://www.economist.com/world/na/displayS...tory_id=3518560

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Reading over that article, it seems like the general tone is that it's bad to be born into wealth and lead a wealthy life yourself, but if you're born poor and work your way up, then somehow you're a better person overall.