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by mecameron 4677 days ago
> Social mobility in the US is one of the highest it has ever been in history

No, social mobility in the US has actually decreased fairly significantly in the last 50 years, and is much lower than other countries. That the US is somehow highly socially mobile is an enduring myth engrained in our collective psyche that is utterly wrong at this point.

It took me less than a minute to google "social mobility in the US today" (non-leading query) to find the following examples with data (and there are many more from other respectful sources):

1. http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2013/06/in...

2. http://www.businessinsider.com/social-mobility-is-a-myth-in-...
3 comments
jnbiche 4677 days ago
On a related note, take a look at the US's gini coefficient, which measures income inequality (and strong predictor of social unrest):

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/09/map...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_coefficient

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mtowle 4677 days ago
We should try to lower this number as much as possible!
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mtowle 4677 days ago
>It took me less than a minute to google "social mobility in the US today" (non-leading query) to find the following examples with data (and there are many more from other respectful sources):

Non-leading query. Hahahaha. As if that matters. There are two types of articles written on the topic, and you found the one you were looking for. This is evidence of exactly nothing.

NB: the presence of a '%' in an article does not a well-done study make. Further, studies on this topic have been commissioned by double-blind souls approximately never.

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sologoub 4677 days ago
Maybe on average yes, but these averages do not represent ability to become financially independent. What they are based on is comparison of earning power of generations and other markers, such as education levels.

By these measures, if you are after 50's style middle class living, it is true, Australia offers a much better bet. Here's an article on a miner making 200k: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020462190457701...

With proper saving and conservative living, you can easily save enough to be relatively secure.

I'll keep working in tech here.

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