Post # 4: Social Mobility

1. Zakaria believes social mobility is going down in the U.S. because the likelihood of children born into poverty rising up to higher classes is low, and the U.S. welfare state is not spending  on the poor, but the middle class. In many parts of the U.S, those who are poor end up with less food, and a bad education. Because of this, the poor are never given equal living conditions as the middle and upper classes, and opportunities for the poor show up significantly less. Also, since the U.S. welfare state chooses to only focus on the middle class, the distance between the poor and the rich slowly increases, and this may soon make it impossible for any lower class people to move up in the U.S.

2. Equality within basic needs for life is a big factor for the U.S. to get back on track with the American Dream and social mobility, because if all classes are given the same education, health care, etc, both the poor and middle classes have opportunities to move up within social classes. This relates to the American Dream of people wanting to become successful, and maybe even better than their predecessors, because if everyone isn't given the same pieces to build up their life, no one can achieve anything they want for their life.