OT Inequality:
I read the Fortune article. Basically, if you get married (and stay married), and get a college degree, then you aren't poor. The poor are overwhelmingly people who didn't do those things. And everyone has the opportunity to do the "Correct Behavior", which society then rewards.
For most of human history, in most societies, most people did what their parents did, and had about the same income. This was true, even in the U.S., through the 1800s. Today, it is not true. There is a fluidity to our society today, which is unique in history. Many people at the top of the business world today are immigrants, or the children of penniless immigrants. The main argument against income inequality (or, at least, the only argument that the rich will listen to) is that the poor decide they have no stake in the existing status quo, and create revolutions. This argument is moot, today. The poor know that the way to get rich is to get an education.
Despite the above, I am personally uneasy about the income inequality I see around me. When I realized how much more money I'd make as a doctor (rather than a teacher, which was my other career choice), I was amazed. I see lots of very hard-working people, doing important and useful work, whose incomes are a small fraction of mine, and I don't think it's fair. And the money I've made in the stock market over the last 5 years, doesn't feel like anything I've earned. It feels like gambling winnings, like I've won the lottery. I feel like it's a dream I'm going to wake up from soon, and it'll all be gone. The fact that I can retire at age 40, with enough money to live very comfortably, certainly seems very unfair. |
