Kristof

This is a quotes Post. 

Nicholas Kristof discusses the issues of economic mobility in the United States in his article "U.S.A., Land of Limitations".


Oftentimes, the United states is seen as a "land of opportunity" where no matter what your starting situation is, if you work hard enough for something, you can achieve it. Kristof explains, "That's a lovely aspiration...Yet I fear that by 2015 we've become the socially rigid society our forebears fled, replicating the barriers and class gaps that drove them away".While this idea is something which people optimistically believe in and which oftentimes motivates people to work harder and to improve their place in life, it is not realistically applicable to most people. The economic system in the United States is set in a way that moving economically upwards is incredibly hard. Yes, sometimes people do do it and achieve the "American Dream", but that is a very rare occurrence. Kristof explains that in the United States, there is only a four percent chance for a boy to move from the bottom quintile economically to the top in his life time.

But while that percentage is so low, people often still pursue the fact that the only thing preventing people from getting to the top is their lack of motivation to get there, the decisions they make, or the situations they get themselves into which prevent them from doing so. People argue they know people who have started out incredibly poor and made it to the top, but as Kristof explains, that is a rare occurrence comparable to the outcome of a tall basketball player coming from parents who are both 5'6". While it does happen, it is very rare. Kristof quotes Professor Reardon who stated, "Rich kids make a lot of bad choices, They just don't come with the same consequences". Starting at a lower economic standpoint, the number of obstacles that need to be overcome to get to the top is much higher, including the consequences to actions being much higher as well, just adding another level to the hurdles which need to be overcome. This is expanded on with the story of Kristof's hometown friend Rick, who started out in a dysfunctional family at the economic bottom, and never moved in his economic standpoint. Kristof explains how in Rick's life while he made a few bad choices, but he also had incredible strength to overcome issues in his life like alcoholism as well as intelligence and hard work, but that he lacked opportunity.

He finalizes his argument by saying, "Success is not a sign of virtue. It's mostly a sign that your grandparents did well". This encompasses the overall message, that economic mobility and success do not lay solely on the individual. While like he said, sometimes there is that one person who makes it out and makes it to the top, more commonly than not the situation is out of the hands of the individual, and no matter how hard they are to try, they will not be able to make it to the top.