Page 265 - Essencials of Sociology

238 CHAPTER 8 Social Class in the United States

Down-to-Earth Sociology

Researching “The American Dream”: Social Mobility Today

“ he American Dream” can mean many things. FIGURE 8.6 Income of Adult Children
Sociologically, it refers to children being able to pass
Ttheir parents as they climb the social class ladder. Compared with That of Their Parents
That children can do this is one of the attractions of the
United States. It has been a driving force in immigration Chances of moving up or down the family income ladder, by parents’ income
and American life. But just how much upward mobility is 100% 4% 14% 19% 24% 40%
there today? We are fortunate to have national research that 9%
compares today’s adult children with their parents (Lopoo 17% 20%
and DeLeire 2012). As you look at the findings summarized 80% 24%
in Figure 8.6, you will see that the United States has 24% Percent of adult
considerable upward mobility. Relative to their parents, one 27% 18% children whose
income is in the:
third (35 percent) of adult children have moved up at least 60% 23% Top quintile
one rung on the social class ladder. Contrary to the many Percent of adult children in each family income quintile 23% 23% Fourth quintile
dismal reports of current social life, the American Dream 40% 43% 24% Third quintile
might be ailing, but it is still vibrant. 19% Second quintile
Some of the most interesting findings in this research 20% 20% Bottom quintile
concern changes in income. (The incomes of the parent and 20% 25%
adult child generations were adjusted for inflation, so the dol- 10%
lars have the same base.) An impressive 84 percent of today’s 14% 9% 8%
American adults have family incomes higher than their parents 0%
Bottom Second Third Fourth Top
had at the same age. One of the surprises is that those most quintile quintile quintile quintile quintile
likely to surpass their parents are the children who were reared When the children were growing up, their parents’ family income
at the bottom of the income ladder. Of the adult children who Source: Pursuing the American Dream: Economic Mobility Across Genera-
started life there, 93 percent have incomes higher than their tions, p. 6. © July, 2013 the Pew Charitable Trusts.
parents did at the same age. With incomes stagnating and Note: This figure is difficult to understand. Here is the explanation. Lopoo
even going backward during the past several years, many and DeLiere (2012) divided the parents’ generation into five groups
(quintiles) according to their share of the nation’s income. The left bar
fear that the “American dream” has been shattered. Certainly represents the fifth of Americans of the parents’ generation who had the
poverty has increased, but it is not likely that the Great Reces- lowest income, the bar on the right the quintile with the highest income.
sion has crushed the dream, just deflated it a bit. We’ll have to The divisions within the bars represent where the adult children ended up
await the next round of social mobility research to find out. in terms of their own income.
Stickiness at the ends. Figure 8.6 summarizes the change
in income from one generation to the next. Of children who were reared in the top quintile. As adults, 40 percent stayed
were reared in the bottom fifth of the nation’s income, as where they started, while 60 percent moved downward. Eight
adults, 43 percent stayed where they started, while 57 per- percent of these adult children moved to the bottom quintile.
cent moved upward. Four percent moved to the top quintile What Do These Findings Mean? People have a lot of
of the nation’s income. Now look at the adult children who things they want to prove, and they like to use statistics to
make their point. These findings will discourage some and
elate others. Some will see a half-full glass, others one that is
half empty. You can go either way. You can stress that 43 per-
cent of the very poorest kids never got out of the bottom—or
you can point to the 57 percent who did. It is the same with
the richest kids: Forty percent stayed in the top quintile, and
60 percent dropped down.
No matter what your opinion, any way you look at it this is
a lot of social mobility. Within all this, don’t lose sight of the
broader principle: The benefits that high-income parents enjoy
tend to keep their children afloat, while the obstacles that low-
income parents confront tend to weigh their children down. As
you can see, though, the benefits don’t keep most of the chil-
dren up, nor do the obstacles keep most of the children down.
For Your Consideration
What is your social class? In ten years, do you think your
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The main avenue to the upward social mobility reviewed here has been social class will be higher, lower, or the same as that of your
higher education. parents? Why?