[bootaccount]

I disagree. My parents emigrated to different lands (with me) to provide me additional opportunity to excel. I'm early into my career and have a higher salary [6fig] than my parents', primarily due to the sacrifices they made over the years.

My job, life and other attributes couldn't have been predicted by salary nor any other vanity metric.

[Joe-Z]

But just the fact that your parents emigrated makes you part of a fringe group.

GP's point, as far as I understand, wasn't that it's impossible to move up the social ladder, just that it doesn't happen for most people.

[dagoat]

> it doesn't happen for most people.

Is there data showing that?

[the_duke]

The only widely available data that comes to mind for me is social mobility aka economic mobility.

It's not so easy to find a good compiled list by country but here s a start (see especially the chart at the bottom): http://www.verisi.com/resources/prosperity-upward-mobility.h...

[lozaning]

Ad nauseum: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/rich-kids-stay-rich-poo...

If you're parents where educated and well off, you'll most likely be aswell, same if your parents are poor and uneducated.