Justice
The U.S. Has a Social Mobility Problem, But Not the One You Think
A child's chances of reaching the middle class aren't declining. But whether they get there depends a lot on where they live.
Of all of our ideological disagreements in the U.S. over the state of the economy and how best to improve it for those struggling, one narrative has garnered consistent consensus: It's been getting harder and harder in America to climb the income ladder. President Obama has decried this trend. So has Marco Rubio.
They fear that the U.S. doesn't offer as much social mobility as it once did. A child who works hard today can't expect the same returns as her parents or grandparents once could. This suspicion is troubling – and politically potent – because it undercuts America's claim to be "the land of opportunity."