1. depressing article and 2. an interesting one (I need to stop reading reddit/r/economics...)
http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2012/09/06/who-is-speaking-for-the-poor/
>There are various conclusions to be drawn here, one of which is that if we do a better job of financial education, then Americans as a whole will be better off. That’s true. But at the same time, financial illiteracy, and general innumeracy, and low IQs, are all perfectly common things which are never going to go away. It’s idiotic to try to blame people for having a low IQ: that’s not something people can control. And so it stands to reason that any fair society should look after people who are at such a natural disadvantage in life.
Am I a bad person if I admit that I agree with the above... out of FEAR?
Maybe it's my Russian background talking, but... pitchforks... and senseless violence are always looming in the background of my mind.
>Easton concludes by saying that “mobility, in the form of equal opportunity rather than equal outcomes, is rooted in the very idea of America”. That’s true - and it’s also true that America has less equality of opportunity today than it right now than at any point in living memory. Once Easton has managed to provide the poor the same level of education afforded to the rich, then she can start talking about the open road to riches.
Still, what about IQ? education doesn't really help with that. it does help with senseless violence though.
edit!
oops, forgot the interesting one: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/09/magazine/whats-a-4000-suit-worth.html
>There are various conclusions to be drawn here, one of which is that if we do a better job of financial education, then Americans as a whole will be better off. That’s true. But at the same time, financial illiteracy, and general innumeracy, and low IQs, are all perfectly common things which are never going to go away. It’s idiotic to try to blame people for having a low IQ: that’s not something people can control. And so it stands to reason that any fair society should look after people who are at such a natural disadvantage in life.
Am I a bad person if I admit that I agree with the above... out of FEAR?
Maybe it's my Russian background talking, but... pitchforks... and senseless violence are always looming in the background of my mind.
>Easton concludes by saying that “mobility, in the form of equal opportunity rather than equal outcomes, is rooted in the very idea of America”. That’s true - and it’s also true that America has less equality of opportunity today than it right now than at any point in living memory. Once Easton has managed to provide the poor the same level of education afforded to the rich, then she can start talking about the open road to riches.
Still, what about IQ? education doesn't really help with that. it does help with senseless violence though.
edit!
oops, forgot the interesting one: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/09/magazine/whats-a-4000-suit-worth.html