Furthermore, the Times graphic was published in 2005, shortly before a major economic event that ripped the guts out of the middle class.
This article explains why mobility may be declining. Reducing legal and and illegal immigration of the unskilled would result in less inequality within the U.S. One reason gifted programs are being gutted in California is that so many resources are being devoted to closing the "achievement gap", to little avail.
I absolutely agree that too much immigration of unskilled people who are also not thriving in schools is going to contribute to declining mobility.
But at the same time, there is a culture in the US that focuses very much on putting profits first, and this policy has gutted the middle class. It's a very complex problem and the solution will not be easy to find. But the loss of semi-skilled jobs in manufacturing may boost profits, but it's also playing a role in the
everyone must go to college mentality. This mentality, in turn is creating an underclass of indebted people who aren't getting those wonderful jobs they were promised and who won't pay off their student loans for 25 years and who won't be buying houses and other things because they're too broke. And it all takes tax dollars away from states and the federal government. It's a downward spiral IMO.
And it works at the lower end of the pay scale too. Paying cash to illegal immigrants instead of paying legal workers by payroll check takes tax dollars out of the system.
How many billions of tax dollars are we losing because of this system?
