Is America Still Economically Mobile?

Come to America, the land of opportunity.  Where entrepreneurs thrive in a capitalist society.  The man with an idea can be successful as long as he is dedicated.  But there is only so much room for a few individuals to become successful in this economy.  These success stories are highly based on an individuals own opinion and motivation on whether or not they can succeed. However, this drive must be recognized in society and a group of people in order to allow this individual with a dream to gain enough momentum to become popular and prosperous.

Excerpt from New York Times editorial published in 2007 entitled The Land of Opportunity? Found in the Opinion section: 

The opinion is this, “When questioned about the enormous income inequality in the United States, the cheerleaders of America’s unfettered markets counter that everybody has a shot at becoming rich here. The distribution of income might be skewed, but America’s economic mobility is second to none.  Unfortunately, the American dream is not that broadly accessible." 

Statistics of the comparison of economic mobility rates between other countries does not favor America as Economically mobile.  "One study found that mobility between generations — people doing better or worse than their parents — is weaker in America than in Denmark, Austria, Norway, Finland, Canada, Sweden, Germany, Spain and France. In America, there is more than a 40 percent chance that if a father is in the bottom fifth of the earnings’ distribution, his son will end up there, too. In Denmark, the equivalent odds are under 25 percent, and they are less than 30 percent in Britain."

Though it is possible for a select few to make it big in America and achieve the “American Dream,” it is not an easily occurring event. One must be completely dedicated, establish connections, and the conditions behind success must be perfect, but even when conditions are perfect their is a lot of luck involved.

Click to read the full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/13/opinion/13fri2.html

The Land of Opportunity? New York Times, 13 Jan. 2007. Web. 13 Nov. 2011.