Kristof- Is the United States the Land of Opportunity?

Is the United States 

the Land of Opportunity?

From the beginning of time, America has been a place for people to have a new chance at life. These new chances, however, are limited to a selection of the population. More often then not, people come into the country hoping there are part of this small selection whom come into the country with nothing and become successful enough to be able to provide a better life for the next generation. However, within America the ability to move up the social economic ladder is almost an impossible task.

“The chance of a person who was born to a family in the bottom 10 percent of the income distribution rising to the top 10 percent as an adult is about the same as the chance that a dad who is 5 feet 6 inches tall having a son who grows up to be over 6 feet 1 inch tall,” Krueger observed in a speech. “It happens, but not often.”

- Alan Krueger, a Princeton economist

From a big picture perspective, America has wanted to hold their origin of being the "promised land". This origin gave the founding fathers the opportunity to create a country in which gave them to power to succeed. History books often tell the story of how during the first winter of our new country, there was a tragic winter that killed the majority of the pilgrims. Yet, as years passed, and generations of families arrived in the United States, the story of the successes of young boys that turned into political leaders rule the history books. America has convinced itself that we are a land of opportunity because the presidents, the lawyers, and the big name people have been successful but the history books forget about the unsuccessful people. They forget that the gap is still widening, they forget that the rich keeping richer and the poor will keep getting poorer.

Meanwhile, more children in America live in poverty now (22 percent at last count) than at the start of the financial crisis in 2008 (18 percent). They grow up not in a “land of opportunity,” but in the kind of socially rigid hierarchies that our ancestors fled, the kind of society in which your outcome is largely determined by your beginning.

- Nicholas Kristof

America likes to emphasis their glorious efforts, and capitalize on the miracles of coming from nothing and becoming the next successful person. Yet these glorious efforts and miracles only occur once in a while.