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>>There are a lot of people who start with a lot less than you or I and some of them never really get a chance to move up, because there are so many obstacles in their way.
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>My wife and I talked about this tonight. We both grew up knowing teens who were better off than we were, and those who were not as well off. We know how many of them have "turned out". We both came up with many examples of the former who didn't do as well as expected, and the latter who did surprisingly well.
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>So much to the chagrin of our current president who would love to see everyone rely on/be subservient to the government, there are still plenty of success stores.
There is a term for this: Social mobility. Social mobility in the US, according to researchers, is no more than in other developed countries. On the contrary, social mobility in a study of 6 counties, the US ended on the last position. In that respect the American dream is dead and a illusion. There are countries in which you are better off. One of the reasons is that in those countries, people will get the same opportunity/access to good education.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/howard-steven-friedman/class-mobility_b_1676931.htmlhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/fareed-zakaria-social-immobility-erodes-american-dream/2013/08/14/c2fc6092-04fa-11e3-88d6-d5795fab4637_story.htmlInteresting in this story is pointing out the causes of the declining social mobility. If you read carefully, it is totally the opposite from what you imply here.
More interestingly is the opinion of the next republican candidate: Jeb Bush.
http://www.npr.org/2013/03/07/173733691/social-mobility-is-the-american-dream-slipping-awayBTW, I'm still waiting of examples of fascism in the policy of the current administration.
