STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Tuesday, 12 June 2012

[Demeter]

30. This Next Generation Will Be Left Behind in the Land of No Opportunity

http://truth-out.org/news/item/9595-not-news-america-is-no-longer-the-land-of-opportunity

There are places in the world where the majority of people are doomed to live no better than their parents and grandparents did. Places where a poor child from the slums might as well dream of being an astronaut as dream of having a decent middle-class job. Places where the children of the rich get even richer while the children of the poor stay poor.

Places like Burma and Kenya and the United States.

Well, at least if you're a poor Kenyan your son just might grow up to be president of the United States. For most poor Americans, even state senator is out of reach. You'd be lucky to find the money to send your child to college, never mind law school.

As that son of a Kenyan said in his most recent State of the Union address, America is becoming "a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by." The numbers back him up. Both executive compensation and the poverty rate are at or near all-time highs.

While Democrats have a reputation for caring about poverty and inequality, Republicans usually focus on the idea that in America anyone who works hard can succeed. America is the country of entrepreneurs. The rags-to-riches story is one of the foundations of our national identity.

The only problem is that it's not true - or, at least, it's not true anymore....MORE AT LINK