Occupy

[j_b]

Jay

 

I like that table. apparently you need to work full time, be educated and preferably married to be in the upper quintiles. gee i'm stunned

 

Right, but what you need to consider is how not being educated, not being married, not working full time most often result from economic hardship rather being the cause of economic hardship as Jayb likes to pretend.

[minx]

I think perhaps I'm naive but I don't think there is linear correlation one way or another. Circumstances vary from one situation to another.

 

and that is what bugs the shit out of me with these types of arguments. the stats, numbers, and tables are all interesting but subject to interpretation. the causal link is always open for debate with socio-econo-anthro-polito-crapo-topics.

 

there's not one cause and there isn't one answer.

 

 

 

[j_b]

It's not a linear relationship because there are positive feedback: not being able to afford education has definite consequences for one's lifetime earning potential, divorcing due to economic instability (main cause of marital break up) makes one more vulnerable to losing one's job, a lifetime of low status jobs doesn't translate into cashing in one's experience and seniority, etc.

 

Even though there isn't a simple answer (due to the feedback mentioned above), the proof is in the pudding of the increasing lack of economic mobility for those at the bottom of the income ladder. Unless you believe that poor people have some loser gene in common (or some lazy gene as conservatives claim), one has to admit that economic security is what enables most of us to acquire education, sustain stable relationships and grow old to benefit from the expertise gained during a meaningful career.