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No longer the land of opportunity - The Washington Post
Keywords:
Harold Meyerson poses some difficult questions for those who like Mitt Romney say America's choice is between the merit based society Romney sees and the "European social democratic vision." In Romney's words- "a merit-based opportunity society- an American-style society- where people earn their rewards based on their education, their work, their willingness to take risks and their dreams." Meyerson cites several studies to show that European societies today are more dynamic on several measures of performance than America's. In intergenerational mobility he cites a Brookings Institution study by Julia Isaacs, that shows incomes are three times more likely to remain the same in America compared to Denmark, Norway and Finland, and one and a half times more frequently than in Germany. Another measure evident from Germany's experience is the degree of union-company-government cooperation to worker retraining, corporate boards that have representatives of workers and management, the "kurzarbeit" program of retaining employees to smooth out impact of cyclical swings in the economy on workers and companies, and worker's willingness to show restraint on wages especially because management wages are not way out of line as in America. Meyerson reminds readers that the U.S. had a more merit based society in terms of upward intergenerational mobility, distribution of rewards of work between workers in manufacturing and service sectors and management, educational mobility with the G.I. bill, in the first 30 years after the Second World War. In a separate article in the Washington Post on Jan. 5, 2012, David Ignatius poses questions about the effects of globalization in shrivelling the middle class. The access to lower wage manufacturing in China, India, Mexico, and other countries, and lowering of wages in the U.S. to be competitive, was part of globalization. The two tier wage structure in the U.S. automobile industry is one example, making middle class wages a thing of the past. Globalization opened up new markets for American companies. Yet many of the gains in employment were made in emerging markets, as the example of GM's expansion in China showed, with automobile manufacturing expansion inside China.
Increasing disparities in income in major U.S. urban areas in 2009-2013
01/20/2009
High unemployment and poverty in major urban areas of the US including Washington D.C. This is especially true for those without a college education.
Grouped Articles
New York Times 06/22/2013
The Great Stagnation in American Education
New York Times 09/07/2013
Peterson and Hanushek: The Vital Link of Education and Prosperity
Wall Street Journal 09/11/2013
Wall Street Journal 10/11/2013
Patchwork of Local Wage Laws Fuels Debate Over Raising Federal Minimum
Wall Street Journal 12/01/2013
Upward Mobility Has Not Declined, Study Says
New York Times 01/23/2014
Poverty among white Americans in 2010-2015
03/11/2009
A previous generation could count on good jobs in manufacturing with only a high school education. The last two decades of globalization have hit manufacturing jobs and wages in the U.S. hard and the impact is greatest on people without a college education. Other problems aggravating income and causing poverty is the increase of dropout rates from the labor force of young white American men, the effects of drug use and the lack of stable marraiges. This creates an underclass of whites in America, similiar to the underclass among minorities.
Grouped Articles
Racial Wealth Gap Widened During Recession
New York Times 04/28/2013
Wall Street Journal 09/14/2011
New York Times 06/22/2013
OECD report cites rising income inequality - The Washington Post
Washington Post 12/06/2011
U.S. Schools Chief Arne Duncan Labors to Straddle Political Divide
Wall Street Journal 07/22/2013
New York Times 02/10/2010
Inequality, education and economic mobility in the U.S. compared with Western Europe and Canada
01/11/2010
Issues raised by Jeb Bush, Krugman, and people in leadership positions.
Grouped Articles
Japan Is a Model Not a Cautionary Tale
New York Times 06/09/2013
New York Times 06/22/2013
OECD report cites rising income inequality - The Washington Post
Washington Post 12/06/2011
New York Times 09/12/2013
Patchwork of Local Wage Laws Fuels Debate Over Raising Federal Minimum
Wall Street Journal 12/01/2013
The Economy Needs a Bit of Ingenuity
New York Times 08/06/2010
Parallels between the Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson U.S. election campaigns of 1910, 1914 and the campaigns in 2012 and 2016
10/31/2010
T.R.'s campaign for the Progressive cause and Wilson's campaign for the Democratic party- taking TR's efforts for reducing economic inequality a step forward- have parallels to the debates in the election campaigns of 2012 and 2016 about economic and social mobility and opportunity.
Grouped Articles
New York Times 10/31/2010
State of the Union: Obama Seeks to Narrow Income Gap
Wall Street Journal 01/29/2014
No longer the land of opportunity - The Washington Post
Washington Post 01/05/2012
From 1889 to 2014, Political Parallels Abound
Wall Street Journal 07/08/2014
Janet Yellen Warns of Inequality Threat
New York Times 10/17/2014
Bad Stock-Market Timing Fueled Wealth Disparity
Wall Street Journal 10/27/2014
A disappearing U.S. middle class in 2012-2015
01/20/2010
Meyerson, Ignatius and others ask the tough questions about America and the prospects for a future with a disappearing middle class, pointing to the need to structure globalization and build cooperation between workers, management and the government in new constructive ways.
Grouped Articles
Americaâs Sinking Middle Class
New York Times 09/18/2013
State of the Union: Obama Seeks to Narrow Income Gap
Wall Street Journal 01/29/2014
More Men in Prime Working Ages Don't Have Jobs
Wall Street Journal 02/06/2014
New York Times 02/08/2012
Falling Wages at Factories Squeeze the Middle Class
New York Times 11/20/2014
Washington Post 11/22/2014
Increasing disparity in incomes, higher inequality and the middle class.
01/03/2010
The situation in the US, Germany, Britain, China, India, Brazil and other countries.
Grouped Articles
Survey in China Shows a Wide Gap in Income
New York Times 07/19/2013
New York Times 09/12/2013
German elections pit Merkel, challenger over poverty problems - The Washington Post
Washington Post 09/17/2013
Americaâs Sinking Middle Class
New York Times 09/18/2013
Europe's Easy-Money Policy Snubs German Savers
Wall Street Journal 11/25/2013
Germany's Social Democrats Agree to Coalition Talks With Merkel
Wall Street Journal 10/21/2013
James Galbraith on the U.S. economy in 2010-2012
01/15/2011
The University of Texas professor on the American middle class, the supercommittee on deficit reduction and the minimum wage.
Grouped Articles
California Set to Raise State Minimum Wage
Wall Street Journal 09/13/2013
Americaâs Sinking Middle Class
New York Times 09/18/2013
New York Times 12/01/2013
Recovery Has Created Far More Low-Wage Jobs Than Better-Paid Ones
New York Times 04/27/2014
Hiring Booms, but Soft Wages Linger
Wall Street Journal 01/10/2015
Tom Keene Talks to James K. Galbraith
BusinessWeek 11/23/2011
The view that the burden of U.S. deficit reduction is falling on the elderly, the poor and the middle class
01/20/2010
Bernie Sanders and other leaders who see this as a problem with the plans for U.S. deficit reduction that are under discussion.
Grouped Articles
Low Interest Rates Are Squeezing Seniors
Wall Street Journal 03/30/2010
Americaâs Sinking Middle Class
New York Times 09/18/2013
State of the Union: Obama Seeks to Narrow Income Gap
Wall Street Journal 01/29/2014
Bernie Sanders’s Revolutionary Roots Were Nurtured in ’60s Vermont
New York Times 07/03/2015
Similarities Aside, Bernie Sanders Isn’t Rerunning Howard Dean’s 2004 Race
New York Times 08/09/2015
Livin’ Bernie Sanders’s Danish Dream
New York Times 02/12/2016
Aging, Retirement and 401(K)'s in America- 2010-2016
03/30/2010
The situation confronting the baby boom generation as it retires in the U.S. The stock market boom-bust cycles of 2000-2002 and 2006-2008 have hurt the 401(K) retirement accounts of most Americans. High unemployment and the housing crisis with many home owners under water has only worsened the situation. The difficult situation for seniors earning little interest on their savings. The problem of outliving ones savings for seniors with their money invested in bonds in a low interest rate environment. The median savings of Americans of close to $10,000 with only 10% of Americans having saved about $1 million by age 65. Longevity today means Americans are likely to live to age 85.
Grouped Articles
Big 401(k) Mistakes … and How You Can Avoid Them
Wall Street Journal 04/13/2013
Why Many Retirees Could Outlive a $1 Million Nest Egg
New York Times 06/08/2013
Suddenly, Retiree Nest Eggs Look More Fragile
New York Times 06/15/2013
Low Interest Rates Are Squeezing Seniors
Wall Street Journal 03/30/2010
Chuck Schwab Is Worried About Small Investors. Should We Worry Too?
BusinessWeek 05/27/2010
An About-Face for the Stock Market’s 5-Year Return
New York Times 02/15/2014
Questions America asks it financial leaders in the light of the cratering going on in the world of finance and ordinary American's retirement savings.
01/28/2008
As a large part of 401 K's disappear and retirement savings are hurt badly Americans are asking questions of public servants and leaders in finance.
Grouped Articles
Chuck Schwab Is Worried About Small Investors. Should We Worry Too?
BusinessWeek 05/27/2010
Paulson’s Deal-Making Revives Treasury’s Relevance
New York Times 01/28/2008
Paulson Drove Plan to Shore Up Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
Wall Street Journal 07/15/2008
Taking Hard New Look at a Greenspan Legacy
New York Times 10/09/2008
The Guys From ‘Government Sachs’
New York Times 10/19/2008
No More Economic False Choices
New York Times 11/03/2008
High unemployment and declining wages in the U.S.: 2010-2012
01/01/2010
Grouped Articles
OECD report cites rising income inequality - The Washington Post
Washington Post 12/06/2011
Wall Street Journal 08/12/2013
No longer the land of opportunity - The Washington Post
Washington Post 01/05/2012
Recovery Has Created Far More Low-Wage Jobs Than Better-Paid Ones
New York Times 04/27/2014
The world economy: Wealth without workers, workers without wealth
Economist 10/06/2014
Falling Wages at Factories Squeeze the Middle Class
New York Times 11/20/2014
Hispanics, other minorities and upward mobility in the U.S.- 2000-2015
01/05/2009
Grouped Articles
Racial Wealth Gap Widened During Recession
New York Times 04/28/2013
Upward Mobility Has Not Declined, Study Says
New York Times 01/23/2014
New Data Muddle Debate on Economic Mobility
Wall Street Journal 01/24/2014
State of the Union: Obama Seeks to Narrow Income Gap
Wall Street Journal 01/29/2014
No longer the land of opportunity - The Washington Post
Washington Post 01/05/2012
Crony Capitalism and the Crisis of the West
Wall Street Journal 06/06/2012
Jeb Bush's focus on declining social and education mobility in the the U.S. in his address to the 2013 CPAC conference
03/11/2009
Jeb Bush talks about the lower social and education mobility in the U.S. in 2013 compared to any time since the end of World War II.
Grouped Articles
U.S. Schools Chief Arne Duncan Labors to Straddle Political Divide
Wall Street Journal 07/22/2013
The Great Stagnation in American Education
New York Times 09/07/2013
Peterson and Hanushek: The Vital Link of Education and Prosperity
Wall Street Journal 09/11/2013
As Bush Settles Into Dallas, Golf Tees and Family Time Now Trump Politics
New York Times 11/02/2013
New York Times 01/18/2014
Upward Mobility Has Not Declined, Study Says
New York Times 01/23/2014
Krugman on student financial aid in the U.S. and the lack of education mobility for the middle class
01/28/2009
Grouped Articles
Japan Is a Model Not a Cautionary Tale
New York Times 06/09/2013
U.S. Schools Chief Arne Duncan Labors to Straddle Political Divide
Wall Street Journal 07/22/2013
The Great Stagnation in American Education
New York Times 09/07/2013
Americaâs Sinking Middle Class
New York Times 09/18/2013
College Tuition Increases Slow, but Government Aid Falls
Wall Street Journal 10/23/2013
Upward Mobility Has Not Declined, Study Says
New York Times 01/23/2014
Fragility of social cohesion in the U.S. with unemployment concentrated in the lower middle and working classes.
03/11/2009
Figures from the Center of Labor Market Studies of Northeastern University in Boston showing unemployment of 9% in the $40,000 to $50,000 annual household income group and going up to 31% at the lowest income group. Higher inequality as differences in education between lower income and higher income Americans grows. The problem of the long term unemployed is a serious one.
Grouped Articles
Wall Street Journal 09/14/2011
Japan Is a Model Not a Cautionary Tale
New York Times 06/09/2013
New York Times 06/22/2013
OECD report cites rising income inequality - The Washington Post
Washington Post 12/06/2011
U.S. Schools Chief Arne Duncan Labors to Straddle Political Divide
Wall Street Journal 07/22/2013
The Great Stagnation in American Education
New York Times 09/07/2013
Increasing U.S. taxes on the middle class
04/12/2009
The Wall Street Journal points to the facts that Warren Buffett does not cover in his plea for higher taxes on billionaires like himself who paid only 17% in taxes in 2010. Buffett made most of his income in capital gains and dividends that are taxed at 15%. That income was already taxed at 35% as corporate income and the 15% on top of that brings the total tax to about 45%. Buffett could write the IRS a check or support taking away the deduction for charitable contributions which is how Buffett contributes to his foundations. For most of the middle class couples making $250,000 for a few years of their life- and much of it going to high university tution payments for kids- the higher taxes make a difference compared to the Buffetts of the world. This is part of the debate on taxes in the U.S. at the time of the fiscal cliff negotiations in Dec. 2012.
Grouped Articles
Americaâs Sinking Middle Class
New York Times 09/18/2013
New York Times 04/12/2009
Wall Street Journal 08/17/2011
Wall Street Journal 08/17/2011
A Disciplined and Driven 'Connect-the-Dots' Investor
Wall Street Journal 09/14/2011
Wall Street Journal 09/14/2011
The shrinking U.S. middle class and what this may mean for consumption in the years ahead.
02/26/2008
If only 1.9 million hourly workers earned more than $20 per hour in April 2008, when the deep downturn that hit in October 2008 had not ocurred and the shift to part time employment and lower auto related wages was just underway, what would the numbers look like by 2010? And what does that mean for consumption? Does it prolong the downturn with demand slow to pick up? What does it mean for exports from China?
Grouped Articles
Americaâs Sinking Middle Class
New York Times 09/18/2013
State of the Union: Obama Seeks to Narrow Income Gap
Wall Street Journal 01/29/2014
More Men in Prime Working Ages Don't Have Jobs
Wall Street Journal 02/06/2014
Falling Wages at Factories Squeeze the Middle Class
New York Times 11/20/2014
Washington Post 11/22/2014
U.A.W. Contract With Fiat Chrysler Would Give 2nd-Tier Workers Big Raise
New York Times 09/18/2015
The homeowner lending boom pushed by unscruplous elements turns out to be a scourge for minorities.
10/11/2007
HUD Sec. Shaun Donovan calls the subprime lending a scourge for minorities, as foreclosures are hitting the minority neighborhoods the hardest. It may even widen the disparity in incomes between minorities and whites as the middle class black homeowners in places like New York State are losing ground.
Grouped Articles
Racial Wealth Gap Widened During Recession
New York Times 04/28/2013
What would MLK say to President Obama? - The Washington Post
Washington Post 08/28/2011
A Toxic Subprime Mortgage Bond's Legacy Lives On
Wall Street Journal 09/13/2013
The Case Against the Bernanke-Obama Financial Rescue
New York Times 05/16/2014
Economic Recovery Yields Few Benefits for the Voters Democrats Rely On
New York Times 05/19/2014
New York Times 05/19/2014
Saving for Retirement in the U.S.
03/30/2010
The difficult situation of seniors earning little interest on their savings.
Grouped Articles
Why Many Retirees Could Outlive a $1 Million Nest Egg
New York Times 06/08/2013
Suddenly, Retiree Nest Eggs Look More Fragile
New York Times 06/15/2013
Low Interest Rates Are Squeezing Seniors
Wall Street Journal 03/30/2010
Chuck Schwab Is Worried About Small Investors. Should We Worry Too?
BusinessWeek 05/27/2010
The Case for Dividend Funds in Retirement
Wall Street Journal 04/15/2014
The Five Big Lies of Retirement Planning
Unknown 04/17/2014
Good practices for Americans approaching retirement in today's environment
02/19/2011
Vanguard Group says the current median contributions to 401 (K) and savings accounts in 9%, including an employer contribution of 3%. This is too low and Vanguard is recommending a 12-15% annual contribution.
Grouped Articles
Big 401(k) Mistakes … and How You Can Avoid Them
Wall Street Journal 04/13/2013
Wall Street Journal 09/03/2011
Burton G. Malkiel: You're Paying Too Much for Investment Help
Wall Street Journal 05/28/2013
Why Many Retirees Could Outlive a $1 Million Nest Egg
New York Times 06/08/2013
Suddenly, Retiree Nest Eggs Look More Fragile
New York Times 06/15/2013
Vanguard Takes Fund Crown From Pimco
Wall Street Journal 11/05/2013
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