the nose on your face?

Really, is it just me, or are all of the articles I have read lately not NEWS (at least, to me?). All of this seems as plain as the nose on your face. The fact that we need to have studies to show these things really distresses me. Someone, please, help me out? Why don't we just understand the consequences of these very basic trends?



This is what passes for an AHA moment in this article:

“A growing difference in education levels between income and racial groups, especially in college degrees, implies that mobility will be lower in the future than it is today,” said Ron Haskins, a former Republican official and welfare expert who wrote the education section of the report.

Here's another one. Will the revelations never cease?

There is some good news. The study highlights the powerful role that college can have in helping people change their station in life. Someone born into a family in the lowest fifth of earners who graduates from college has a 19 percent chance of joining the highest fifth of earners in adulthood and a 62 percent chance of joining the middle class or better. (Emphasis mine, in case you were wondering,)

Ahhh... here it is. The reason we have to have a study, that is, proof. Because our lives are now run by SPIN, we need "facts," "data," and "reports" to tell us what should be evident except that the spin doctors have been busy diverting our attention with other arguments.

Mr. Butler said experts were likely to disagree about the reasons and, hence, on policies to improve mobility. Conservative scholars are more apt to fault cultural norms and the breakdown of families while liberals put more emphasis on the changing structure of the economy and the need for government to provide safety nets and aid for poor families.

Get a life. If you do not progress educationally, you will not progress monetarily. Gone are the days, if they ever truly existed for more than a handful, of working your way up. The sad, hard truth is that the lower your educational level the lower your salary potential. And when we systematically exclude portions of our citizenry from that educational attainment, don't be surprised (OR BLAME THEIR PARENTS) when they are unable to find gainful employment, earn a living wage or support themselves or their children.



If you want to exclude the majority of your young citizens from the possibility of doing from themselves, then you must in good conscience maintain the poverty programs. You can call them safety nets or handouts, I don't care. Personally, I would rather that you give them a fighting chance and stop congratulating yourselves on your hard work. You didn't get to where you are because your parents or culture were better than anyone elses. You did not choose your birth family.