At the top, heading down: Robert Samuelson on economic mobility

Parents all over the world want good lives for their children. That’s not a controversial statement, nothing to write home about. But what does it mean to have a “good life”? Is it only about economic prosperity? And is prosperity only measured across generations? Washington Post economics columnist Robert J. Samuelson observes what may be a new trend in this August 2018 column.

Samuelson, "The rise of downward mobility”

 

1. Samuelson is writing about economic anxiety in the US, something that many people have been experiencing for a long time. Why is Samuelson worrying now? Summarize his argument.
2. Although Samuelson is writing about the US economy in general, he explicitly positions himself as “an upper-middle-class parent.” Why might he have made that disclosure? Does the disclosure strengthen his argument? Why or why not? Explain your reasoning.
3. Samuelson’s They Say includes research reports by several teams of economists as well as popular wisdom. How well does he distinguish his own ideas from theirs? Why do you think so? Use Chapter 5 of your text to help you identify the moves that Samuelson makes.
4. Do you think that the economic health of a nation should be measured by whether each generation enjoys more prosperity than the previous generation? Do you think your own economic success should be measured in comparison with that of your parents? Write an essay in which you address those questions and discuss how your responses—about the nation in general and yourself specifically—relate to one another.

Comments

[Maqsood Sesay]

When reading the essay "How to be a woman programmer" by Ellen Ullman, the author was trying to address the problem of the woman not being in more technical fields. They say "Yet I could see that, at the deeper reaches, it was as if some plague had specialized in the killing of females. I looked around and wondered, “Where are all the other women?” We, women, found ourselves nearly alone, outsiders in a culture that was sometimes boyishly puerile, sometimes rigorously hierarchical, occasionally friendly and welcoming.". In summary, the author is trying to convey that there is a vast amount of women underrepresented in the engineering field and feels that men are suppressing women from coming up. In my opinion, I think that is not the case and that women do not choose to go into that field because of their own free choice. For example, in the medical area, there are more women than men but, I don't feel women are suppressing men from going into that field. In conclusion, I believe men and women are different, and so are their interests

[Maqsood Sesay]

When reading the essay, " What about gender roles in same-sex relationships?" by Stephen Mays, the author is writing about how society is imposing gender roles in same-sex couples. From reading this, it seems that the author has taken a personal attachment to this topic For example it states "I recently overheard someone comment to her friend about a gay male couple walking ahead of them on the sidewalk. The girl said, “Who do you think is the girl in the relationship?” I couldn’t help but frown at the girl and shake my head. As clear as you would think it is to see, I’ll spell it out for you: neither of them are the girl. They’re both boys." This shows how invested the author is into this topic he later says why "gender roles dont matter". In my opinion I agree with the author, Imposing gender roles into people is wrong. Imposing feminine roles into one of the couples in a same-sex relationship should not be right.

[Lauryn Potter]

Samuelson is writing about economic anxiety in the US, something that many people have been experiencing for a long time. Why is Samuelson worrying now? Summarize his argument

We have been noticing that most young adults are struggling, they are waiting to get married, have children and buy homes in effort to save money. There are many young adults who still live at home to save money, they are not making enough in this booming economy to buy homes. Young adults are not making as much as their parents are which is growing and will continue onto our children. We need to make changes now to ensure our children have a chance at the best life possible. That they don't need to struggle buying homes in a horrible housing market as we are now. President Trump says he is making changes but we don't know exactly where to start to make these things possible. Are the choices we make now going to help our children when they are adults? Samuelson is worrying now because it won't be an overnight change, we need to act now so our future is bright for our children.

[stephanie]

My view, however, contrary to what Robert Samuelson is saying about economic mobility has argued, is that he is right. It is hard for when kids get older to make more than what their parents make. As a working middle class parent they will worry about how their children will turn out. Things has changed a lot and are different. In the 1990s or earlier lower class went to work and got married and started a family. Today in time kids stay with their parents longer to get a better education. Today kids are worrying more about their future and education then back in the early 1990s or 1980s. I believe in every generation will always have a lower class, middle class, and a upper class not everyone can be rich and in Robert Samuelson blog he states that "the poor worries about staying poor, the middle class worries about staying the middle class, and the upper class worries about staying the upper class".

[tyler kreitlow]

it is often said that America is the land of opportunity and freedom. In Samuelson's blog, he wrote about how the future generations to come will struggle financially if something is not done now. Samuelson states that as time has passed, the amount of people who surpass their parents financially has decreased. We can see this trend growing with more people marrying later and living at home longer. Samuelson is concerned about this issue because it will affect his kids lives when they reach adulthood. The cause of young adults making less money then their parents is due to "poor education systems" and things like "weak housing construction". Economic anxiety is a growing problem that makes the already poor, more poor, the lower middle class struggle to make ends meet, and now the upper middle class worrying about their children not being able to support themselves when they reach adulthood.

[Alexis]

Life for everyone is different it is mainly the way you were raised no doubt. Everyone clams that they have it hard when their parents are just trying to look out for them. some parents are not any where to be fount in their life and it's sad. Teenagers are in a hurry to get out of the house and go get married but they do it at a young age which is scary and never seems to work out for them in the end.

[David Schillo]

Living things are highly organized, meaning they contain specialized, coordinated parts. All living organisms are made up of one or more cells, which are considered the fundamental units of life.

[Joel Lara Martinez]

I agree that we should stray away from conventional wisdom, a point that needs emphasizing since so many people still believe that it is so easy for people to switch their economic status.

[Giovanni Cuellar-Garcia]

Lauren Potter summarizes that today's young adults are struggling to live in the current economic environment. As a young adult, I've experienced how expensive it is to purchase your own car. If it weren't for living in my parents home I could never afford to pay off my first car.

[Cesar A Delgadillo Jr.]

Cesar A Delgadillo Jr.
CSSEM 300- Professional Practices Seminar
Professor Yeager
September 29, 2018
Robert Samuelson on economic mobility
Samuelson is writing about economic anxiety and the worry parents have to see their children strive for a better economic status than their own. This has been true for every generation, as far back as we can go into history. The reason for writing is the fact that it doesn't seem to get better every passing generation. It looks like it seems to be getting worse. Facts from many sources of studies have proven his claim for everyone’s worry.
Samuelson points out that it is tougher to the middle upper class than the poor. The reason he states this it's because, as middle class, they worry to lose what they already worked hard for their children. The anxiety of losing it all loads on them. For the poor, as he states, "The incomes of the poor can’t drop much lower; indeed, with small gains, they can pass their parents.” He claims that the poor can't have a change in the anxiety they already feel because they don’t have much to lose. Parents with some sort of wealth to leave to their children feel anxiety because the children have to take the responsibility of carrying on their hard work forward.
It’s true when he states that the poor can't possible loose much compared to the middle class. It’s just not a statement that can be validated as a fact. Anxiety can be load bearing on the poor too. The middle class have better advantages through medicine, job offers, and even luxuries the poor can't afford. The poor will see everything, but can’t offer those same advantages to their children. The social pressure for the poor is giving their children what they want and need. This is the same pressure the middle class feel. Both parents feel anxiety, in different reasonings, so they are equally the same pressure.
It's great that Samuelson noted his experience as the upper-middle class. It gives ground to what he claims and how the studies affect people in his status quo. His experience gives a reason for his class group. I can't say it’s a disadvantage, but it doesn't state a claim for the poor or the rich. His they say claims of the studies and what He says are distinguishable. It can’t be claimed as the main reason for the reported results by experts, but it may be at least one reason that supports the studies.
One generation shouldn’t be compared to the next one because there are many differences between each one. People are constantly migrating, so one generation will experience different life cycling than the previous one. Technology is innovating in time, so you can’t compare the same luxuries of technology to the last era of people. The economy is always fluctuating, so what would seem like poor financial status would be referred to luxury in previous times. Laws are added and removed, society changes culture constantly. Wisdom and methods are even rediscovered. Some practices would be discontinued, but then reconsidered as a good method for the time of era. We can say for sure that time is changing and making everything more efficient. We can’t compare financial prosperity between eras. There are times of struggle and times of smooth sailing in the economy. So not everyone will experience the same thing.

[jason Beaton]

In an opinion piece for the The Washington Post, Robert J. Samuelson worries about the inevitable impact of income inequality in the United States effecting people of all economic strata, especially the upper-middle class. Samuelson is reacting to the social construct that many of us grew up believing which is that every American generation will be more upwardly mobile then the previous one. The author believes this reality will cease to exist for the upper-middle class. I agree with Samuelson’s view that that the upper middle-class is facing the same downward trend that generations in other classes have found troubling for a while. However, I think he misses the mark quite a bit.

First, the situation for the upper-middle class might not be as dire as Samuelson presented. In a recent report for the Pew Research Center, author Rajesh Kochhar found the size of the American middle-class to be stable; although, they are losing ground to their richer counterparts in the one-percent. Kochhar also notes that since 2011 the number of people counted as middle-class has settled in at around 51 percent, reversing the trend first seen in the 1970s.

Samuelson neatly sticks to the economic woes of the wealthy, making the case that the upper and middle class have more to lose than the lower classes and the poor. While this sounds correct from a dollar perspective, it seems like a cruel and short-sighted view for what is at stake for the less financially fortunate.

Having grown up in a lower-class family and being fortunate enough to marry into the middle-class, I have a very different viewpoint from that of Samuelson. As a child, my father started several small businesses that failed before he would eventually become successful. After each failure, he would return to driving a New York City taxi to make ends meet. Being a cab driver was hard and at times, a dangerous way to put food on the table. My father worked 12-hour shifts, leaving all the parenting of my brother and I to our mother, who also worked nights. His downward shift economically had real costs to him and his family that were no less painful, in fact probably much more, than the suffering that Samuelson describes for the upper and middle class experiencing economic difficulties today.

In my perspective, the income inequality between the top one-percent and all other groups in America has been and still is one of the most significant failings of modern capitalism in American and throughout the globe. While Samuelson rightly points to a trend for those who felt economically safe in the past, this isn’t really a new phenomenon; it is only more acute and reaching more individuals. Many in the 99 economic percentile and obviously more towards those below the poverty line have been grapping for years with diminished bank accounts and standards of living; it has left many of us waiting for enlightened political solutions to address unaffordable healthcare, unlivable wages, astronomic education costs and more.

Samuelson is correct by noting that the living standards of the middle and upper middle class moving downward should be seen as a canary in a coal mine for all Americans. However, I disagree with his take on what is at stake for those that have the most financial resources of any Americans. The recent rise of extremes in the American presidential election process, devout socialist Bernie Sanders and real estate billionaire Donald Trump becoming political sensations in 2016, speaks volumes to the mounting financial despair that all but the one-percenters of America face. Samuelson was looking at the right subject, but missed the most important points.

[Michelle]

In reading Robert Samuelson I can agree in a statement he did, " Parents want good lives for their children". I can connect with this since my dad works to buy me what I want and give me a better life than he did.

[Vincent Calson]

After reading the article by Samuelson, I learned that it has been noticed for a while now that young adults have been struggling. They are waiting to get married, have kids, and buy a house. There are many young adults staying home to save money. Young adults are not making as much as their parents. Which affects the young adults mentally and they end up believing that they won't make enough as them ever. Changes need to be made to make sure young adults can plan for a good future and economic success. The President said he is trying to make changes, although it is tough to achieve these plans to make sure everyone can be economically comfortable is nearly impossible. Samuelson is worried now because this movement to improve our economy and the decisions is starting and one bad decision can mess it up for all of us.

[Terrence Ludwig]

Looking back into history, Samuelson said, economic anxiety as always been present. The question is, to what degree? Along with the question, why is it worse now than previously? In Samuelson's article, he addresses how as time goes on, everything changes, technology, education, and so on. One would think that in today's day and age, that with the assistance from technology and all the new inventions, life would be easier, and you would not have to worry as much. Contrary to this notion, increasing financial struggles have become more than presumably true.

Our generation today is falling short of accomplishing what parents thought they would, and in theory, is paving way to a new, understood, less successful society. Today's generation seems to be failing to utilize advantages that they possess at their fingertips,good schools, job market connections, college, and other beneficial programs that may help them succeed. Previous generations made the best of what they had, and pulled through to become successful. The same mindset needs to be enacted on our generation today. If our generation and future generations are not taught how to use programs that are given to us (College career centers), this is going to lead to many problems down the road. Samuelson touched on the topic of coming up with better ways to supplement the inadequate salaries and wages. Nobody is going to be able to purchase property, move away from their parents, or provide their future family with everything they need if something is not done.

Wages are changing and inflation seems to be an evident problem. People today are working, but not necessarily making enough money to fulfill their needs, never mind surpass their parents income. Therefore, this is leading to the growing trend of people living with their parents for a longer duration, getting married later, and making big financial investments such as a house or a car later on.
With these conditions, it is becoming harder to keep one's head above the water as opposed to doing better financially then their parents. Previous ideas and standards are evolving into a bigger issue. Although there may be other factors contributing to these seemingly apparent changes, for the most part these principles seem to be the culprit of what is a growing problem.

[Vincent Carlson]

After reading the article by Robert Samuelson, I learned that for a while now that young adults have been struggling more so then ever before due to the lack of social mobility. They are waiting to get married, have kids, and buy a house. But these young adults are not making as much money as they have before. There are many young adults staying home to save money. Which affects the young adults mentally and they end up believing that they won't make enough as them ever. Changes need to be made to make sure young adults can plan for a good future and economic success. The President said he is trying to make changes, although it is tough to achieve these plans to make sure everyone can be economically comfortable is nearly impossible. Samuelson is worried now because this movement to improve our economy and the decisions are starting and one bad decision can mess it up for all of us.

[Terrence Ludwig]

Looking back into history, Samuelson said, economic anxiety as always been present. The question is, to what degree? Along with the question, why is it worse now than previously? In Samuelson's article, he addresses how as time goes on, everything changes, technology, education, and so on. One would think that in today's day and age, that with the assistance from technology and all the new inventions, life would be easier, and you would not have to worry as much. Contrary to this notion, increasing financial struggles have become more than presumably true.
Our generation today is falling short of accomplishing what parents thought they would, and in theory, is paving way to a new, understood, less successful society. Today's generation seems to be failing to utilize advantages that they possess at their fingertips,good schools, job market connections, college, and other beneficial programs that may help them succeed. Previous generations made the best of what they had, and pulled through to become successful. The same mindset needs to be enacted on our generation today. If our generation and future generations are not taught how to use programs that are given to us (College career centers), this is going to lead to many problems down the road. I agree on the topic of coming up with better ways to supplement the inadequate salaries and wages. Nobody is going to be able to purchase property, move away from their parents, or provide their future family with everything they need if something is not done.
Wages are changing and inflation seems to be an evident problem. People today are working, but not necessarily making enough money to fulfill their needs, never mind surpass their parents income. Therefore, this is leading to the growing trend of people living with their parents for a longer duration, getting married later, and making big financial investments such as a house or a car later on.
With these conditions, it is becoming harder to keep one's head above the water as opposed to doing better financially then their parents. Previous ideas and standards are evolving into a bigger issue. Although there may be other factors contributing to these seemingly apparent changes, for the most part these principles seem to be the culprit of what is a growing problem.

[Vincent Carlson]

After reading the article by Robert Samuelson, I learned that for a while now that young adults have been struggling more so then ever before due to the lack of social mobility. They are waiting to get married, have kids, and buy a house. But these young adults are not making as much money as they have before. There are many young adults staying home to save money. Which affects the young adults mentally and they end up believing that they won't make enough as them ever. Changes need to be made to make sure young adults can plan for a good future and economic success. The President said he is trying to make changes, although it is tough to achieve these plans to make sure everyone can be economically comfortable is nearly impossible. We should all be worried now because this movement to improve our economy and the decisions are starting and one bad decision can mess it up for all of us

[carlos]

After reading and analyzing the article by Robert Samuelson, that life is totally different now, than what it was back then. Nowadays, young adults struggle to create a better life for themseleves, and for the children they could have. As he himself puts it, "Among many young Americans, there is downward mobility. The children aren’t achieving what they (and their parents) expected. Even when they have (and many have), the gains could be eroded in the future. The trajectory is not inevitably up. Parents worry about their children’s fate." For people born in the 1940's, it was easier for that generation to make more money than their parents. Mainly because those prior had to go through the Great Depression in 1930s. But now, as time goes on. Young Adults cannot progress as much as their parents when it comes to having a successfull life, with having a significant other, a home, and kids. Now is time to worry for the minorites who could have the happy and successfull lives they and their parents wanted for them.

[Piotr Smiarowski]

After reading the article by Robert J. Samuelson, I would have to agree with his baseline argument, downward mobility is truly happening, no doubt about it. But I have to disagree with Samuelson that this is significant. Samuelson states that children are living with their parents longer, getting married later in life, and having children later on too. But these aren't necessarily bad things, if you take a look at social media and what young adults are doing you will see that many are staying in school longer, traveling the world, working for non-profits, and pursuing their hopes and dreams. These negative traits that Samuelson describes are actually good things in my opinion. Young adults are more active, more in touch, and more creative than ever. We are in a social renaissance, there is so much creativity, inspiration, problems, and room for us to do what we like. Facing problems like deforestation, global warming, social injustice, dictatorship, has pushed many young adults to want to see change. Income is no longer the driving factor in our society, being the richest person is no longer a goal for many, it's become simple, the pursuit of healthy relationships, true friends, deep connections, acceptance, expression and social change. Though this may not look good from an economic standpoint it is what we need as a society. The problems that were created that we once ignored and set aside are now receiving the attention and support they need. Like pollution, oil use, and deforestation. Many have come to accept the fact that their purpose is to help fix the problems in the world and this is their drive to help make a change that will last and experience life in no way imaginable, not in an office going home to a boring suburban house with your boring suburban family but living life the way you want to and living it to your heart's content, living on the edge and taking risks. Downward mobility may be a legitimate concern for our economy but times are changing and making more money than your parents is not a problem may young adults are concerned with at the moment.

[ShengZhou]

I believe that the next generation’s life will better than our life. the new technology will change future people life. also, the new technology will solve many world problems. The new technology improves production efficiency, so society can afford more people get an education. Many people will easily get a high education. the new technology and high education will be boring people in a new world. First, modern technology promotes people easily get a better life. The new technology is changing people life, and it helps people to find a comfortable life. scientists keep inventing the new technology. People can look forward future life will better current life. The technology always leads to human’s improvement. The new technology will bring the human into a new world. in the world, everyone will be influenced. For example, the internet is changing the world, and influence everyone. People should believe the future human’s life will better current life because of technology’s improvement. Second, the modern educational system will help people to get more knowledge. The educational system is a knowledge source. The educational system is keeping progress and more people get an education. When a new technology improves social production efficiency, more people will go to school. People should believe that in the future, high educators will become a common phenomenon. Therefore, the next generation’s life will better than our life. Moreover, a class or a minority group’s future life cannot represent human’s future life. In the future, a class, or a minority group may get a worse life than the last generation, but these not prove human will get worse life. a class or a minority group is a part of the human. Human’s future life based on technology and education. therefore, a class or a minority group’s future life cannot represent human’s future life.

[Bailey McDuffie]

As the times are changing, the economy and people are as well. After reading this article by Samuelson we can infer that economy anxiety is becoming more of a problem for future generations. Samuelson positions himself as an upper-middle class father, however he expresses his concern for his children despite being in a somewhat good position. Samuelson talks about how in years past children would have a higher income compared to their parents, however as years past that percentage of having a better income than your parents have lowered and he fears that it will continue to do so as the years pass on. Despite this generation having more resources by newer technology I believe that the economic anxiety for future generations is real. While the economy is going at an okay rate at the moment there may be a time where kids are struggling to get jobs and a reliable income. This can be caused by many things, such as having a good education history for a job, or having experience such as years of volunteering or internship before you could ever be considered for a job. While the economy is not at a suffering point at the moment, we can slowly see the future generation struggling to make a decent income.

[Hannah Tolliver]

Despite the common adage in America that each generation lives better than the previous, Robert J. Samuelson writes in his Washington Post Column entitled The Rise of Downward Mobility, The opposite has been true for decades. Citing a study by Raj Chetty and fellow economists, He explains that fewer and fewer people are surpassing their own parent's income levels. He also brings up trends such as putting off getting married, buying homes, and having children that seem to be direct consequences of downward mobility.
While some may blame these consequences on more women entering the workforce, I believe that too is a consequence. While many women may be career minded, it is becoming more and more true that a couple, let alone a family, cannot subsist on just the father's income anymore. Downward mobility is delaying, and in some cases, crushing young people's dreams to get married, buy homes, and have children.

[Rebecca Pronina]

After reading this article by Robert Samuelson I can agree with some comments that Samuelson considers himself as an upper-middle class parent who wants to have a bright future for his children and believes that ecomonic prosperity will give them necessary start. But, we cannot aggry that simular live style, or simular start in life can have the same effect on everyone. Some people became more successful after marriage, some need to stay "strong on their feet" before they will be involeved in family problems, so support of their parents is necessary. Not everyone is ready to start the college or university at the same age, some students had hard time in school, sinse in our today's society both parents have to work to meet needs of the family and if they are in college - they don't have a time for their kids, can't help them with homework or other stuff. So, trying to do the best for kids, we are not always in a Win-Win situation. Improving quality of life for kids today we may not prepare them for their future.

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