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A comment on To Understand Rising Inequality, Consider Janitors. Parent comment

Re:To Understand Rising Inequality, Consider Janitors by peatmoss on Sunday September 03, 2017 @11:05AM (#15161776)
I've heard from smarter people than me that your parents' level of economic attainment is the best predictor of your economic attainment. Everyone may be broke in their twenties, but some of those 20 somethings presumably got a leg up from being in a good (pre, elementary, secondary, post-secondary) school and can ask mom and pop for help on the down payment for a home, etc.

Suspect that's still the case, though the other trend of increasing inequality means that more and more at the bottom are slipping out of middle class, while a very select few at the top are headed toward cryoretirement in their ice palaces overlooking a scenic valley on some private jovian moon.

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Re:To Understand Rising Inequality, Consider Janitors by humanrebar on Sunday September 03, 2017 @05:45PM (#15164107)
> your parents' level of economic attainment is the best predictor of your economic attainment

I've read that marital status of you biological parents and the marital statuses of the parents in your neighborhood are also great predictors.

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Re:To Understand Rising Inequality, Consider Janitors by ebfd on Sunday September 03, 2017 @11:51AM (#15162056)
Score on IQ tests is a far better predictor of SES than parental SES. Someone in the 95th percentile for IQ will, on average, earn more than someone with parents in the 95th percentile of earnings.

See: http://www.emilkirkegaard.dk/en/wp-content/uploads/Intellige...

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Re:To Understand Rising Inequality, Consider Janitors by Forlien on Sunday September 03, 2017 @03:58PM (#15163509)
IQ might be a better predictor, but the linked paper says it's not a far better one:

"The results demonstrate that intelligence is a powerful predictor of success but, on the whole, not an overwhelmingly better predictor than parental SES or grades."

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Re:To Understand Rising Inequality, Consider Janitors by ericd on Sunday September 03, 2017 @05:03PM (#15163899)
That might just mean that intelligence is useful not only for gaining personal success, but also for raising offspring who will be successful. Is that a problem that society should try to correct?
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