Nicholas Kristof writes in the New York Times:
ONE delusion common among America’s successful people is that they triumphed just because of hard work and intelligence. In fact, their big break came when they were conceived in middle-class American families who loved them, read them stories, and nurtured them with Little League sports, library cards and music lessons. They were programmed for success by the time they were zygotes.Yet many are oblivious of their own advantages, and of other people’s disadvantages.
….This crisis in working-class America doesn’t get the attention it deserves, perhaps because most of us in the chattering class aren’t a part of it.
There are steps that could help, including a higher minimum wage, early childhood programs, and a focus on education as an escalator to opportunity. But the essential starting point is empathy.
Read more at Is a Hard Life Inherited? – NYTimes.com.
This is typical socialist dribble … sounds intelligent and caring, but is really dumb, dishonest BS. Where is the evidence to support this rubbish? But you can bet it will be readily believed by naïve Labor supporters, who are usually victims who take no responsibility for their lives, but look the government for their salvation. I grew up in a family that did none of the things stated in the dibble above. My family was not warm, I did not have stories read to me, I was not encouraged to play sports, I did not have music lessons. Despite this, I put myself through tertiary education and I was self employed at age 25. The biggest threat to our society is not fanatic Islam, it is the sick and depraved ideology called socialism, that preaches entitlement and dependence on government.
I tend to favor the “give people a hand up, not a handout” view. Early intervention and mentoring for children at risk. Make education accessible to all. I view these as wise investment, reducing the number of individuals who are lifelong dependents (and sometimes “guests”) of the state.
The studies show time and again that those at the bottom of the socioeconomic scale are there because they make poor life choices, at least in the U.S. I believe that this is a more important issue than the color of ones skin today . The U.S. census shows that you have a large probability of joining the middle class if you graduate from high school, don’t have a child until marriage and work full-time regardless of the income level. The study referred to above was done by the Brookings Institute, a very Left organization. Yet the Progressives are just in denial and push this racism, it takes a village and lots of government money bull. Government money has destroyed the black family and caused these problems in the first place.
Negative behavior patterns are also inherited, just with a lower probability than physical attributes. If your parents have a child before marriage, you will be more likely to. If they are not in full-time employment, neither are you likely to be. If one is alcohol- or drug-dependent, then you are more likely to be. There will always be the exceptions who make it on their own, but the odds are stacked against children from high-risk families. The challenge for society is how to make a difference without perpetuating welfare dependency.