The Ladder is Broken

[FayeforCure]

America is the original meritocracy. The American promise is that people are not prisoners of the circumstances of their birth. Who your parents are or where you were born should not determine your destiny. From the beginning, this has always been one of our self-evident truths. And for many decades, the U.S. had greater social mobility than other developed countries. But that is no longer true. The U.S. now ranks behind France, Denmark and Finland in terms of the ability of people to move up the economic ladder.



Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2098586,00.html#ixzz1d3GKm9fs

[ben says]

Damn those Scandinavian countries in being the best in every category!

[BridgeTroll]

Clicked on the link you provided and apparently you cannot access the article without a subscription or username and password.  Can you please provide us a username and password? 

[Tacachale]

Damn those Scandinavian countries in being the best in every category!

Not so much in the diversity category.

[Timkin]

Time to rebuild the ladder

[FayeforCure]

Damn those Scandinavian countries in being the best in every category!

Not so much in the diversity category.

Oh Really? Did you know that 10% of the population in Sweden was born outside the country?

http://su-se.academia.edu/FredrikHertzberg/Papers/675729/Tolerance_and_Cultural_Diversity_in_Sweden

Denmark has even more diversity. They also have more tolerance than the US.

And, though not a scandinavian country (as if Americans would know....lol), the Netherlands composition indicating diversity:


Nationality:

Dutch



Major ethnic:

Dutch 80.07%



Minor ethnic:

EU 5%
Indonesian 2.4%
Turkish 2.2%
Moroccan 2%
Surinamese 2.%
Netherlands Antilles/Aruba 0.83%
Other 8.36%


The US used to pride itself on being a melting pot, but apparently that isn't any cause for pride anymore with all the anti-immigrant hate mongering.

Diversity in France:

According to a recent genetic study in 2008, 28.45% of all newborns in mainland France in 2007 had at least one parent of immigrant origin from the following regions (Overseas departments and territories of France, Africa, North America, South America, Southern Europe : Portugal, Greece and South Italy, Near East and Middle East and the South Asia).

Equal opportunity and free schooling (even at college level) provides better upward mobility.

[Tacachale]

Damn those Scandinavian countries in being the best in every category!

Not so much in the diversity category.

Oh Really? Did you know that 10% of the population in Sweden was born outside the country?

http://su-se.academia.edu/FredrikHertzberg/Papers/675729/Tolerance_and_Cultural_Diversity_in_Sweden

In fact I did know that. I also know that a good number of them are from Finland, and that many of those are Finnish Swedes. I also know that the majority of their immigrants are from other European countries. Their population is also quite low and their birth rate is declining, meaning that immigrants make up a larger percentage of their population.

I was also aware that the Netherlands and France are not in Scandinavia.

[FayeforCure]

So How to fix it ( and I don't want to hear the tea partiers howling about socialism)

In order to rebuild the mobility in this country, Foroohar suggests we should draw on the experiences of European nations and others that have been able to preserve income mobility in their countries. Foroohar says the best medicine for boosting mobility in the U.S. is to improve the education system. What's more, Foroohar says European nations have been able to maintain smaller income gaps by providing stronger safety nets for the lower classes, such as universal healthcare.

Another interesting point Foroohar makes is on tax policy. Politicians often complain about the complexity of the U.S. tax code and how that holds back the economy. But Foroohar says the more mobile European nations have fewer corporate loopholes, longer tax codes and generally higher rates, and at least on an equality and mobility standpoint their nations' economies seem to be performing better.

Lastly, Foroohar says, in Nordic nations and in Germany, places with lower income gaps than American, Unions get seats on corporate boards in order to help balance out worker pay and CEO pay. That makes a lot of sense. To read the whole story, click here. (The stories are available in full to magazine subscribers.)

Also in the cover package, TIME columnist Fareed Zakaria writes about how our declining education system is finally catching up with us. Zakaria makes a compelling case for why we should think about the education problem and the income gap problem together. Zakaria's full article is here.



Read more: http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2011/11/03/why-the-u-s-is-no-longer-the-land-of-opportunity/#ixzz1d4CM0sNt

[north miami]

Diversity in France

sad slums sprawl between the airport and 'old' Paris.

perhaps I should return in the summer,rather than December visit.maybe a better outlook.

No one on the train seemed to even glance out the window-study- while traveling through the vapid section.

the earth's resources are being divided up quicker than many realize.The "ladder" destined to topple.

[BridgeTroll]

The US used to pride itself on being a melting pot, but apparently that isn't any cause for pride anymore with all the anti-immigrant hate mongering.

Anti immigrant hate mongering??  What on earth are you talking about??  There IS plenty of discussion about illegal immigrants... and a few hate mongers mixed in.

How many of those non Dutch immigrants snuck into the country?  How many have legal documentation to live and work in Dutch society?  My bet is 90 to 100%...

Oh look... Dutch immigration rules...

http://www.expatica.com/nl/essentials_moving_to/essentials/Dutch-immigration-and-residency-regulations_12220.html

Dutch immigration and residency regulations

The Dutch government has even admitted that its immigration system is "complex and unwieldy" but since 2004 the system has been increasingly streamlined with legislation designed to attract and select more educated and highly skilled migrants. Here's what you can do to make the process easier and faster.

First of all, ensure that your documents are in order. Check your passport is valid for the period of your stay and that marriage and birth certificates are translated into Dutch, English, French or German and sufficiently ‘legalised'. This is generally with the addition of an apostille-an extra stamp on the original document-and you obtain this from the ‘competent authority' in your own country. See the apostille section of www.hcch.net.

There are two main bodies involved: the IND, which implements immigration policy and makes decisions on residence permits, and the GBA, where you register your entry into the Netherlands.

Registering with the GBA: everyone

The gemeentelijke basisadministratie persoonsgegevens is the personal records database of the municipal authority. Anyone who intends to stay in the Netherlands for more than three months (including EU/EEA nationals) must register at the GBA within five days of arrival. Registration with the GBA triggers the start of other processes and proof of registration is essential for many more.

The details you give when you register (such as the size of your apartment and family) determine charges for water and refuse collection, prompts the local health department to contact you regarding checkups for your children, and eligibility to register for social housing.  As of November 2007, the burgerservicenummer (BSN) (which has replaced the old fiscal SOFI-number) is issued here and you'll need a BSN to open a bank account. Once you have completed this process, you can get a printout of your details (uittreksel) which proves your residence and rights, such as being able to vote in local and European elections.

Documents required include a passport (valid for a minimum period of the length of your stay), rental contract (in your name), employment contract (if applicable) and birth and marriage certificates of all family members (see above for legal format).  Registration is free. You don't have to repeat this process every time you move house; you can generally just visit a local office (stadsdeelkantoor) to update your details (which you are legally obliged to do). You also need to de-register when you leave the Netherlands. The GBA no longer deals with applications for residence permits. For that you must contact the IND.

In Amsterdam and The Hague, there's a central location where non-Dutch nationals register for the first time. You need to make an appointment and all members of your family (regardless of age) must be present at the first interview. Once you have registered, contact the IND to make an appointment regarding the residence permit (if required).

[FayeforCure]

Back on Topic.

How about Public Funding of Colleges and Towards a General Theory of Public Options

California, one of the world’s wealthiest places, has seen one of the world’s most astonishing declines in college achievement. The state’s continuation rate, the proportion of students starting college who complete it, fell from 66 percentto 44 percent in just eight years (1996â€"2004).

California’s rank among states in investment in higher education declined during the same period, from fifth to forty-seventh,according to Tom Mortenson, a higher education policy analyst.The state has cut its investment in higher education by close to 50 percent since 1980, forcing tuition increases like the 60 percent rise at the University of California from 2004 to 2008, which was followed by a 32 percent rise between 2009 and 2011. Meanwhile, half of California’s students (kindergarten through grade twelve) are now eligible for thefederal school lunch program, up from one-third in 1989. As Mortenson notes, these students will have no personal resources to cover the costs ofattending college, which at UC is nearly $30,000 per year.

Throughout this period, the Democratic opposition came to accept the description of the public infrastructure as a “safety net”â€"something remedial, for society’s alleged losers. Higher education by its very nature falsified this idea, since it was a public investment that created and constructed new technology and new ideas, new craft knowledge, new andmore effective economic and sociocultural systems. Specialists were well aware that public funding was the only source of support for the early development of scientific and cultural knowledge, for fundamental experimentation, for breakthrough creativity. And yet even progressive politicians seemed unable to learn a basic concept like “market failure” that had been part of economics since the 1950s. They accepted the premise that public outlays could and should be replaced by private funding wherever a higher education manager expressed an eagerness to try.

http://rortybomb.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/on-public-funding-of-colleges-and-towards-a-general-theory-of-public-options/

What happened to our level playing field?

Short Answer: For-profit diploma mills suck up massive federal loan and grant monies.

It's the largest growing for-profit industry in Jax............just look at all those ads on TV.

We must have at least 50 for-profit institutions sucking up corporate welfare at the expense of our students.

[ben says]

Why do people get so defensive when confronted with the 'America isn't the best' talk?

[Tacachale]

^On the other hand, why do people promote the practices of comparatively homogeneous and exclusive cultures as something to emulate in our diverse and immigration-dependent society?

I agree with Faye, for instance, on the for-profit college issue. As a student of the colonial period, I disagree with the fetishization of Europe.

[BridgeTroll]

^On the other hand, why do people promote the practices of comparatively homogeneous and exclusive cultures as something to emulate in our diverse and immigration-dependent society?

I agree with Faye, for instance, on the for-profit college issue. As a student of the colonial period, I disagree with the fetishization of Europe.

Bingo!

[ben says]

^On the other hand, why do people promote the practices of comparatively homogeneous and exclusive cultures as something to emulate in our diverse and immigration-dependent society?

I agree with Faye, for instance, on the for-profit college issue. As a student of the colonial period, I disagree with the fetishization of Europe.

Not sure I see anything wrong with attempting to emulate societies who succeed in education, health, transportation, social services, 'happiness' levels, birth mortality, et cetera, regardless of homogeneous or not. This isn't a European fetish. It's comparing facts to better our own society.