On any given day it is easy to encounter news about the increasing income inequality in America. Interestingly, a new study by the National Bureau of Economic Research finds that even as the gap between the rich and poor was widening the opportunities for the poorest Americans to climb the economic ladder remained stable. More specifically:
9 percent of children born in 1986 to the poorest 20 percent of households were likely to climb into the top 20 percent — little-changed from 8.4 percent for such children born in 1971.
So What?
The good news: The opportunity for children raised in the poorest 20% of households to climb into the top 20% has held steady.
The troubling news: Perspective. It remains harder for Americans to make this move than is the case in most other wealthy countries.
- What types of changes do you think would need to take place in our culture to allow a greater percentage of the poor to find their way to a more robust economic future?
- How (if at all) do you feel the church should be involved in advocating for and bring about such changes?