The New York Times is running an editorial today about Opportunity in America - specifically how a new report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development dismantles the myth of economic mobility in America. Americans famously put faith in the idea that - existing inequality aside - anyone in America can strike it rich or pull themselves up out of poverty by their bootstraps.
Recent research surveyed by the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development, a governmental think tank for the rich
nations, found that mobility in the United States is lower than in
other industrial countries. One study found that mobility between
generations — people doing better or worse than their parents — is
weaker in America than in Denmark, Austria, Norway, Finland, Canada,
Sweden, Germany, Spain and France. In America, there is more than a 40
percent chance that if a father is in the bottom fifth of the earnings’
distribution, his son will end up there, too. In Denmark, the
equivalent odds are under 25 percent, and they are less than 30 percent
in Britain.America’s sluggish mobility is ultimately
unsurprising. Wealthy parents not only pass on that wealth in
inheritances, they can pay for better education, nutrition and health
care for their children. The poor cannot afford this investment in
their children’s development — and the government doesn’t provide
nearly enough help. In a speech earlier this year, the Federal Reserve
chairman, Ben Bernanke, argued that while the inequality of rewards
fuels the economy by making people exert themselves, opportunity should
be “as widely distributed and as equal as possible.” The problem is
that the have-nots don’t have many opportunities either.
Kudos to the Times for attempting to explode the myth of mobility in America, which has been in decline for some time. Not only are the rich getting richer, but as we saw with the lack of response to Hurricane Katrina, the government of late has not been doing its part to help people who suffer misfortune to start over, let alone help those born into poverty overcome their situation. As Al Franken noted in his excellent speech announcing his Senate candidacy - it's great to talk about lifting yourself up by your bootstraps, but first you need the boots. Government is here to provide those boots to help all of us achieve our full potential in life, regardless of the circumstances of our birth, our race or in income level.
But let's also not forget that economic mobility isn't the only measurement by which we judge the accessibility of opportunity in America. Opportunity is comprised of a number of other qualities - security (for instance, the ability to know that a medical emergency won't bankrupt your family); voice (the ability to have a say in our government and the decisions that impact our lives), community (the recognition that we are all in this together and have a moral obligation to help each other succeed in life), as well as redemption and equality. These are the Core Values that, together, constitute true opportunity.
In 2006, we released a report measuring Opportunity in America along all of these indicators - not just mobility. Just a few months ago we updated that report. In that update we found:
- Equality in America is stagnant. The gender gap in wages continue to persist, as does significant racial discrimination in the housing market, in health care and elsewhere.
- Redemption is also stagnant. Violent crimes have declined, but felons are still denied their voting rights after serving their sentences and the United States continues to set new records for incarceration rates.
- Security is declining. Poverty remains as persistent a problem as ever in 2007. Health insurance coverage is down, with nearly 1 in 7 Americans lacking coverage and there is still a significant lack of affordable housing in America.
These are just a few of the over 70 indicators measured in our full report (pdf), but they point to an even greater crisis in opportunity than that identified by the New York Times editorial or the OECD Report. For more information on the state of opportunity in America - and for solutions to the crisis of opportunity we now face - read our report: The State of Opportunity in America and its 2007 update.
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re: Opportunity in America
Found this through Jenkins's article in TomPaine.com - Glad to see more of us are in on the need for change. Right in line with my recent words that I wrote for my local Democratic Club's wishing well at our annual picnic - Keep up the good work.My Wish for a Decent Life for Us All -I’m tired of hearing and trying to respond to a thousand calls for money and support from every candidate who puts profit ahead of the society they want to govern. Here’s a word from the HEART and SOUL of America:Don’t just ask nice. Be nice.Don’t just say good things. Do good things.Or else.The 1% who own more than the rest of us do not need me and others to vote to increase their feudal dominance over all of us in the name of freedom. They claim the right to have no one tell them what to do. They need to understand that all we want is to live a decent life without them making it impossible for anyone but them to live a decent life.The word for living a decent life doesn’t exist.We have to create it.Then say it.And live it.Is that too much to ask?Is living a decent life too much to do?Today?And tomorrow?And tomorrow and tomorrow?Or is the idea just completely gone now?Not worth the time it takes to think of it,Not worth the fatalist’s murmur,Nor worth the cynic’s understanding,Unworthy of even the optimist’s hope and the child’s dreams for a life that makes sense in every part of this world?I don’t need to ask why I’m here. I already know what I am doing here and what I want to do.I just want to ask what are you doing here?I’m not asking “Why are you here?” But, what are you spending time doing that keeps the rest of us from doing what we want?Are you doing it just for you?Or for you and the rest of us?That’s all it would take, you know.And we’d help you do it.That’s right. If you wanted to make your fortune making and selling things that are useful and good in an ethical way for people pursuing decent lives we’re all for it and we’ll do what works to help you make your fortune that way.But if you want to make your fortune by hurting others, starving others, in any way disturbing anyone else’s chances at a decent life, then we don’t want you to have that kind of fortune. In fact, we’ll work against any attempt to create such unethical, anti-humane fortunes from ever happening again.It’s not socialism. It’s still very much capitalism. It’s just that the capitalism America and the world needs now is an enlightened capitalism. Democratic, heartfelt capitalism.All the millions of issues and talking points that keep swirling around are just parts of this one overriding idea. We can negotiate the small stuff, but this is the big stuff. And we all ought to agree on it.No wars for commodities. No abuse of others for your profit. No unfairness in the way opportunity is available.You want us to fight and die for your right to innovate and make profit?Fine. We will like we always have, but you have to remember one thing:It’s only in fairness that we join you in this. You can have all the profit you can handle but only on things deemed worthwhile to the world and you are not allowed to take unfair advantage of anyone at any time.Decent life.For all of us.We need a word for it. How can we make it fashionable in the world to do good rather than ill?We are the Heart and Soul of America and this is what we want for ourselves and everyone else:Honor is the only way to conduct business, ours, yours, the town’s, state’s, and nation’s.Equality means no one, even someone in power, has more rights than anyone else.Affinity means, no matter our differences, we need to work together for community.Representation is for all, from all, so all politics must start from the local to the top.Truth is always going to come out, so we all may as well start with it to create real trust.AndSecurity means social security and personal security to live calmer, better lives.Opportunity for all gives people an even chance in life, for life.Universality of health care and education will enable all to take that even chance.Liberty is what this country means and every American has the right to deserve it.Bill Trzeciak,Burbank Democratic ClubJune 2007