re: #647 Aceofwhat?

that graph is typical of the general inability of the Times to consider more than one variable at a time.

for example

“high income mobility would result in the grandchildren of both a poor and a rich person making relatively similar incomes”

bullshit. high income mobility results in people being able, over time, to earn money relatively equivalent to their ability+effort.

I’m sorry, but you can’t simply call ‘bullshit’ on a metric. I don’t think you understand why you’re using that metric, since the one you want to replace it with has absolutely nothing to do with what they’re measuring.

The question they’re asking is “How important is the economic condition of the parent/grandparent to the economic success of the child/grandchild?”

And the answer is that in the US, it is harder to change from the economic conditions that you were born into than in Europe, and that is a problem we are facing. It is not in the least bit a surprising development, since we’re a highly capitalist economy and capitalist economies reward the owners of capital.

If you feel, furthermore, that the US would score better on that metric that you would like, can you find data to support that?