Originally Posted by
Millennial
Ah yes, the "natural factors of mobility"! Which part of our "diverse population" would you say is holding us back? How can the country homogenize the population to better help those helpless diverse people attain upward mobility?
You also seem to be missing some other socioeconomic factors in those western European countries besides their lack of the dreaded diversity. Or how some countries, like India, are very homogeneous, yet have incredibly poor social mobility. They may operate under a brutally cruel caste system, but at least they aren't diverse, am I right?
I'm really not sure what countries you think have more social mobility than the US.
Northern Europe and, to a lesser extent, Australia have huge tax burdens. Everyone is taken care of far better than the US, you're not going to end up on the street in Norway like in the US, but there just isn't a lot of purchasing power. So even if you put in the work to make more money, there are other barriers to preventing you from living the dream. Like, a Camaro costs $100k/yr in horsepower/CO2 tax, VAT is painful, and everything is highly regulated and expensive, like riding a motorcycle, getting a driver's license, DIY house projects, etc. Their culture keeps people solidly in the middle class. If you're a complete screw up, you get pulled up to the middle and if you work your ass off, you get pulled back to the middle, which is more egalitarian, but less socially mobile.