Social Mobility Remains Strong in Land of Opportunity

Is the American dream on life support? That's the perennial claim of declinists, who are convinced that the American spirit of opportunity is at death's door. That claim was recently bolstered by research from a team of top economists, who found that half of today's 30-year-olds are worse off than their parents were at the same age. A closer look at that study, however, reveals that opportunity is alive and well. That does not mean we should be complacent about removing barriers to success for those born disadvantaged, but neither should we worry that the nation's best days are behind us ...