It's true that income inequality has grown dramatically in last 30 years in United States, but social mobility? In truth it doesn't appear that ever changes much at all.
Social networks play a critical, though often unappreciated, role in people's efforts to improve their lives. In my work at the Family Independence In...
America used to be a land where we took care of our own. Times are changing. Today, some would have the weakest and most vulnerable among us tighten their belts, lower their expectations, and take care of themselves.
We don't need a national discourse on poverty but a shift in attention away from disadvantage toward an examination of the concentrated advantages provided to those already flourishing in our society. It then becomes clear that it is not only poverty but inequality that plagues the poor.
Education is no longer the great American equalizer, and in order to effectively level the playing field, those for whom the odds were in their favor should give back to the school system and assist the disadvantaged in breaking the odds that are so dauntingly stacked against them.
My experience tells me that lack of knowledge isn't the main reason why we don't end up where we want to be financially. The problem is lack of willingness to do what it takes. This sounds cold and harsh I know. But it is true for both you and me.
Many people equate the American Dream with the attainment of a set of possessions -- a car and a home or a rising standard of living. Those are certainly desirable, but the more important element differentiating the U.S. economy from most others is social mobility.
The Center for Children in Poverty estimates that we have lost all of the gains we made over the past 50 years in child well-being. We've lost opportunity. We are facing a crisis that demands an urgent response in these politically charged and polarized times.
The debates over social mobility will rage between and within the main political parties. But they should do so on firmer ground. The nuts and bolts of congressional and government machinery make poor copy for soaring campaign speeches. But the American Dream sorely needs some planning.
We undermine the basic concept of 'one-citizen one-vote' with the Electoral College, an idea that may have seemed like a good idea in 1789 but has not been emulated by other countries for countless reasons.
This piece comes to us courtesy of The Hechinger Report's Community College Spotlight blog. University education is free in Switzerland, but most s...
Eagle Rock is both a school for high school age students and a professional development center for adults, particularly educators. The school is a year-round, residential, and full-scholarship school that enrolls young people from around the country who found success elusive in their previous high school.
The United States now finds itself at a crossroads: still fervently committed to the American dream, but unwilling to adopt policies that would promote its realization. Put simply, Republicans and Democrats alike want something they cannot have.
The American dream may be more out of reach, but it's not impossible to achieve.
America, the land of opportunity, needs to create those opportunities for all its children.
Sadly, our land of opportunity seriously lags behind Norway, Canada, Finland and Denmark in intergenerational mobility. This kind of poor opportunity fits hand in glove with gross economic inequality.
It's all about familiarity and convenience while on the go. So how will the advent of Facebook's App Center as well as other booming app stores across platforms benefit the mobile workforce?
Regardless of political philosophy, few would argue that a society with little social mobility is a good thing. Societies in which there is little opportunity for social mobility will lack incentives for people to strive.
If America were a corporation, it would today be the equivalent of IBM in the early 1990s. Once a world leader, America is now lagging behind.
For America's poor, the decision to forego college won't kill all chance of moving up the economic ladder. It just severely worsens the odds. Inde...
Only when we can break the achievement gap and bring even a semblance of equality to high and low-income area public schools can we truly say this country is one in which all are born with an equal chance in the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness.
What a bummer to discover that this great national mythology that's sustained us for so many generations may no longer be true. A spate of recent studies suggests that Americans are no longer upwardly mobile.
When I asked a young friend for an image when I said the word "mobility," he said, "wheels." I thought, "What a descriptive image for that word."
As the presidential campaign heats up, here are ten things the candidates should understand about why extreme inequality is toxic for America.
The truth is, we've become a nation of narcissists. For many Americans -- particularly Republicans -- the core value is not "E pluribus unum" but rather, "What's in it for me?"
