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Poor kids who do things right don't do better than rich kids who do things wrong

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Poor kids who do things right don't do better than rich kids who do things wrong

#21

Post by Retric »

dudul wrote: post #2

It sucks, but what's the solution? Because let's face it, the primary purpose of "being rich" is to provide for one's family, at least from my point of view. If I work my ass off it's to make sure I can help my kids do better than I did. What's the point of being "wealthy" if it's not to help your kids have a better life than your own? I don't want to sound insensitive. All these studies about kids born in poverty an…

Wealth is associated with having more kids, not just weather kids. Which provides an evolutionary incentive on it's own.

Re: Poor kids who do things right don't do better than rich kids who do things wrong

#22

Post by refurb »

busterarm wrote: post #9
adamnemecek wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fix the fucking educational system and stop wasting people's time.

As a jumping off point, undo the damage Ronald Reagan did to it.

Reagan was last president almost 30 years ago. Time to blame someone else.

Re: Poor kids who do things right don't do better than rich kids who do things wrong

#23

Post by terrywilcox »

oldmanjay wrote: post #4
dozzie wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If I work my ass off it's to make sure I can help my kids do better than I did. > What's the point of being "wealthy" if [...] You confuse "being wealthy" with "working one's ass off".

Since that isn't even close to what the OP said it's pretty clear you're dedicated to the narrative of the evil rich. Keep plugging! It'll stick soon

I believe you've swapped the narrative.

A lot of people work their ass off just to pay the rent and feed their kids.

Working your ass off does not imply wealth. That's the problem.

Re: Poor kids who do things right don't do better than rich kids who do things wrong

#24

Post by rch »

dudul wrote: post #2

It sucks, but what's the solution? Because let's face it, the primary purpose of "being rich" is to provide for one's family, at least from my point of view. If I work my ass off it's to make sure I can help my kids do better than I did. What's the point of being "wealthy" if it's not to help your kids have a better life than your own? I don't want to sound insensitive. All these studies about kids born in poverty an…

You're probably correct in the N+1 generational context, but there are good reasons to consider policies that mitigate entrenched multi-generational aristocracy.

Re: Poor kids who do things right don't do better than rich kids who do things wrong

#25

Post by jowiar »

harryh wrote: post #12
adamnemecek wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fix the fucking educational system and stop wasting people's time.

The educational system is a scapegoat for far bigger and more entrenched problems.

"Scapegoat" is probably less accurate than "symptom". In that, in many states (i.e. Kansas), the education system has been deliberately hamstrung by people empowered by the "entrenched problems".

Re: Poor kids who do things right don't do better than rich kids who do things wrong

#26

Post by mac01021 »

This doesn't seem particularly remarkable to me.

> Specifically, rich high school dropouts remain in the top about as much as poor college grads stay stuck in the bottom — 14 versus 16 percent, respectively.

They're saying social mobility (up or down) is attainable for 85% of each group. And graduating college is not really the same as making all the right choices...

Re: Poor kids who do things right don't do better than rich kids who do things wrong

#27

Post by adamnemecek »

harryh wrote: post #12
adamnemecek wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fix the fucking educational system and stop wasting people's time.

The educational system is a scapegoat for far bigger and more entrenched problems.

I'm not sure I really want to argue about this but fundamentally I think that you might be thinking that fixing the educational system means making the schools on the wrong side of tracks perform as well as the schools on the other side. It's definitely not that simple, the system as a whole is somewhat flawed.

Re: Poor kids who do things right don't do better than rich kids who do things wrong

#29

Post by harryh »

adamnemecek wrote: post #27
harryh wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The educational system is a scapegoat for far bigger and more entrenched problems.

I'm not sure I really want to argue about this but fundamentally I think that you might be thinking that fixing the educational system means making the schools on the wrong side of tracks perform as well as the schools on the other side. It's definitely not that simple, the system as a whole is somewhat flawed.

I certainly understand the desire to not argue with strangers on the internet. :)

Re: Poor kids who do things right don't do better than rich kids who do things wrong

#30

Post by dogma1138 »

Florin_Andrei wrote: post #17
dleslie wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The solution is to diminish the income gap. If we believe that few employers are happy to carry employees who provide a net productivity deficit, then on the face of it we cannot assume that those who are impoverished and employed are not meaningfully productive. The question we ought to ask ourselves is how much disparity is acceptable to allow across the incomes of productive individuals; or more bluntly, why do th…

Anything that increases social mobility would be good. America is doing quite poorly in terms of social mobility, compared to other top-tier countries.

I wouldn't be on it, being poor in America still means you have more money than everyone in the world, including more than the middle class in most EU nations.

Social mobility in Europe is also really not great especially once you adjust for the immigration, you also need to account for the fact that social mobility studies in Europe are based on the income level of parents and grandparents, both WW2/Eastern Block and immigration from Africa, Asia and the Middle east inflate the social mobility figures considerably.

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