Posted on 04/26/2006 3:47:22 PM PDT by nicollo
Pssst! The Dutch do not come from Denmark. The Danes come from Denmark; the Dutch come from Holland. OK?
Thanks to Jimmuh Carter, the late 70s recession, and my Dad going back to school... my family didn't have very much while I was growing up. I also grew up in a backwoods small town. But, Mom and Dad taught me some common sense (if you don't have it, don't spend it!) and instilled a real work ethic in me. Dad got his degree and a good job and is in a state of comfortable semi retirement, now.
I'm not in the top 5% of earners yet, but it won't be too long.
This article is 100% crap. All it takes to get ahead in America is a whole lot of hard work, and a little horse sense to go with it. Typical class envy BS, doesn't matter if the facts are true - all that they prove is that rich people are rich because they continue to do the things that make them rich. Same thing for the poor.
Let me get what this ass clown is saying.
22% of wealth in the US passes from Parent to Child
And 2% happens to the Dutch.
That means that 78% of the US doesn't get inheritance and 98% of the Dutch don't get it.
If both of the remainder get only 1% chance at becoming rich, the Dutch have a better deal, after all 1% of 98% is a larger percentage than 1% of 78%.
Of course, that means, in the end, 1% of the Dutch become rich, 23% of those in the US either become rich or are already rich!!!
The reality then is that you have a 23% chance of being rich in the USA, and a 1% chance if you are Dutch. Right?
Yep, and if I remember correctly, in France, the correlation between people growing up in a rich background and staying rich is extremely high (probably at least 60%). France, as put forth by American liberals as an examplar ideal society, in fact has the least income mobility of all the Western nations. The source comes from the World Factopedia published by HarperCollins. Its editors are all academics or graduates from the London School of Economics, University College London, The Financial Times - all hardly conservative bastions even by British standards.
"Actually the American dream was never about amassing great wealth. It's about earning an honest living, buying a home and raising a family while being left alone."
Perfectly stated!
Such currrrapppp! I'm in "socialist" Canada. I can give you seven examples off the top of my head, all immediately related, i.e. siblings. None a user of "employment insurance" EVER. (Yes, we use medicare because we could be fined for using private services up here.) None a user of loans and bursaries - we'd rather work two jobs than be in debt.
I can also probably guarantee our collective child tax credits found their way to worthwhile charities.
And no, nobody did us ANY favours.
We all volunteer, and so do our 15 children.
Simple concept the liberals can't get their heads around - HARD WORK AND VALUES.
I'd just like to know what they mean by "rich." If all you're analyzing is if a parent lives in a trailer and his child becomes Bill Gates... then yes. Very few people will achieve "rich." But it's just ridiculous to suggest that you have a better shot at moving from a trailer to a one-story ranch house in other countries than in America.
Thomas Sowell has written numerous articles on this subject. Very few people stay poor. That's not to say that they become stinking rich, but most people to at least one higher income level in their lifetimes. And that's government census and labor statistics - not a biased survey of 4000 people.
Beautifully put. Kudos.
Hey, try 1000 square feet with 9 people and one bathroom to living in between 5000 - 3000 sq feet with a minimum of 3 bathrooms - all of my sibs and I did that. It's pretty darn nice, but our kids can't get their heads around it.
Exactly! Immigrants have been coming here in droves for the past century BECAUSE this is the greatest opportunity to move up. Even if they don't reach the status of a millionaire, they're going to be in a better situation than they were in they're country of origin.
This study is the biggest farce I've ever seen. It never analyzes the fact that children raised by poor people often learn habits that will continue the cycle of poverty. The point is the OPPORTUNITY is there for them to do BETTER - but they have to put forth the effort.
Did this study measure the steps taken by these people to improve their situation??? How do we know much of these people didn't just sit around and b*tch about how poor they are and how "the man" is keeping them down???
What they appeared to say in the article was that there was less of the parental wealth passed down to the grandchildren. I'm sure this is true, but I bet it's an issue of taxes. I wonder what their death tax/estate taxes are like.
susie
My husband works in the Trust business. You would be surprised how many trust babies pi** it all away. There is an old saying, "Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in 3 generations" in other words, the grandfather makes the money, the son manages to keep it and maybe make more, the grandson loses it. It's not true in all cases, but most of truisms have some basis in fact.
susie
I'm sure that does happen, and I have seen it. On the other hand, those folks still tend to eventually get educated and go out and make livings. Since I don't know what the author means by "rich" it's hard to tell if the article is completely bull or not.
Well, without defining "poor", that statement is pretty meaningless. But if it's taken to mean seriously poor, like running short on food poor, I don't think there's a country in the world where the figure would be higher. This guy seems to think that a society with a very narrow range of wealth is preferable because it enables a larger percentage of the population to go from the bottom to the top. Trouble is, you've barely gone half a block if you move from "poor" to "rich" in Sweden.
Well, I think the article is bull. But I was surprised at the number of wealthy kids who end up middle class or less. Lots of them have no work ethic, have drug and alcohol problems. Of course, I'm not talking about Kennedy wealthy. Those can probably skate alot more generations....
susie
Good. Maybe they will all stay in their own "utopian" countries.
Bullsh!t.
I grew up in a household in the bottom 2 percent and now I am in the top 2%.
All it takes is hard work and frugality.
""What they appeared to say in the article was that there was less of the parental wealth passed down to the grandchildren.""
thats fine with me.
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