Interesting that like the researchers, you are very motivated to prove that the US is not providing opportunity and mobility. I think it’s telling how much you seem to want this to be true. This is why I’m very suspicious of the research that is done here. Some people are very driven to prove a poin regardless of reality. It’s a fun game though and I can see how people get hung up in research.
I am pointing out what the papers said, which was considerably different than what you claimed they said.
It wasn’t. I just came home after having a few drinks and I recalled Peru mentioned on one of the papers he listed earlier. You must ask yourself the question Phil, why are you convinced that America is terrible at providing opportunity. I think it says a lot about the crew in here who seems to believe it. Of All the research he provided, none said America is a bad place to improve one’s life. In fact, it proved that America is indeed one of the top countries on the planet to get ahead and live a happy, healthy life. I never said it was the best, but we are no where near the middle or bottom.
You’re just like wgb. You’ll never give an inch. You’ve been proven wrong using the research that you provided. You’ll need to try a lot harder to prove America to be the hell hole you seem to think it to be.
I'm not convinced America is terrible at providing opportunity. It isn't as good as it could be, and most Americans have a completely false idea of how good America is at providing opportunity.
In what way is the US being below median in economic mobility proving me wrong? I never said America was a "hell hole" so you are arguing against a strawman. I simply stated that it has low economic mobility.
How exactly did it "prove" that? Again, we finished 16th in the Stanford paper out of 24, which contained a mixture of developed and developing countries in economic mobility. How do you get from that to we are one of the top countries on the planet to get ahead? In fact, we are below the middle of the countries in that sample, which are not the most economically mobile countries in the world.
America is above Spain and Italy in this regard. And UK is only 6 spots ahead of us on this ranking. I think you should admit that for some reason, you are bending over stretching to show that the American dream is false. Out of 193 countries, America is 27. We are quite diverse and unlike many of the tiny nations listed above us in social mobility. We are NOT low in economic or social mobility.
Why is mostly an issue of data availability and comparability. Many of the rankings did contain countries often labeled "third world." Those countries do tend to have worse economic mobility.
It’s okay. You can say it. America is one of the top nations for mobility on the planet. Of course we all want it to improve but it’s a very fine place to live.
Your 'worldview' is rigidly parochial, tied as closely as it is to your equally rigid Christian faith. It fails to recognize or acknowledge the universality of the Law of Reciprocity, also known as the Golden Rule, the ancient maxim predating both the Hebrew and Greek biblical testaments. Worded in various ways, the tenet widely and wisely instructs Buddhists, followers of the Hindu faiths, Confucianism, the Tao, as well as those of the Judeo-Christian and Muslim faiths to treat and deal with other people as we ourselves wish to be treated. Socrates had his own way of saying it, “Do not do to others that which would anger you if others did it to you.” Native American Chief Seattle spoke the similar, “Whatever befalls the earth, befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.” Also taught in the Sikh tradition - “As thou deemest thyself, so deem others.”—Guru, Nanak Dev. In Taoism as “Regard your neighbor’s gain as your own gain, and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss.”—Tai Shang Kan Yin P’ien Zoroastrianism teaches: “That nature alone is good which refrains from doing unto another whatsoever is not good for itself.” Even Wiccans have their own distinct version - “An’ it harm no one, do what thou wilt” It is a foundational moral principal establishing the right, or righteous way of interacting with people whom we encounter or have association, most certainly preceding its Christian expression. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy has this to say - "The golden rule is much-reputed for being the most culturally universal ethical tenet in human history." The Golden Rule | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
