In a sea of sad information, this is one of the most disturbing set of statistics I have seen. If hard work is not rewarded, then what is, and why should people put out an effort?
Agreed. If we lose hope, then things will start to spiral downward... which is why Obama's message resonated so well... and met with skepticism and cynicism when it didn't work out as advertised. Imagine if JFK went onto a second term and turned out to be a disappointment. We would be in a different country.
I find the third statistic particularly troubling. I firmly believe that America was founded, and has found success by relying on the ideal that through hard work and determination, a person will be rewarded with the opportunity to get ahead in life. Incentives matter. The steep decline in people who believe that ideal could spell trouble for our nation.
It's not about a simple change in values or loss of hope. Huge income inequality and disparity in earnings has downward pressure on intergenerational mobility, otherwise known as the American Dream. When you can work full time and end up below the poverty line, it can become incredibly hard to break out of one's assigned lot.
Hardly a week goes by without a politician invoking the American Dream and worrying about its demise. That’s not surprising.
In a sea of sad information, this is one of the most disturbing set of statistics I have seen. If hard work is not rewarded, then what is, and why should people put out an effort?
Agreed. If we lose hope, then things will start to spiral downward... which is why Obama's message resonated so well... and met with skepticism and cynicism when it didn't work out as advertised. Imagine if JFK went onto a second term and turned out to be a disappointment. We would be in a different country.
I find the third statistic particularly troubling. I firmly believe that America was founded, and has found success by relying on the ideal that through hard work and determination, a person will be rewarded with the opportunity to get ahead in life. Incentives matter. The steep decline in people who believe that ideal could spell trouble for our nation.
It's not about a simple change in values or loss of hope. Huge income inequality and disparity in earnings has downward pressure on intergenerational mobility, otherwise known as the American Dream. When you can work full time and end up below the poverty line, it can become incredibly hard to break out of one's assigned lot.