It is hard out here

Our parents brought us to the US thinking this is the place of equal opportunity. Everyone that comes here anticipates that this is the place where one can dream, work hard and achieve. For the most part, this is truer in America than many other places in the world, but this does not mean that it is a given, nor is it unique to the US. Furthermore, the reality of upward economic mobility in the US is complex and often limited.

The neighborhood you grow up in can significantly impact your future earnings. If you lived your childhood in the South Bronx for example, chances are you will earn lower wages your whole life as compared to someone who lived their childhood in a more affluent neighborhood. In other words, it is unlikely that you will earn much more than your parents did. "43 percent of Americans raised at the bottom of the income ladder remain stuck there as adults, and 70 percent never even make it to the middle" (The Pew Charitable Trusts, “Pursuing the American Dream,” 2012).

I learned this is my mid-20s while listening to NPR in my car and became really disheartened. What has all my hard work been for if the chances of upward mobility are so low? What were the factors contributing to this apparent rampant deferral of our dreams? What I learned in my research was that, as I expected, education and race were significant factors. What I did not expect was that a major contributor to the capacity for social mobility is existing household capital---that is, how much money is available to the family in stocks and other assets already. Wealth begets wealth.

The problem is that wealth and knowledge about wealth lives in certain circles and if you're not already born into these circles, this information is gate kept -- by design. If it weren't capitalism would not function. Additionally, the wealthy make the rules, they have the power to financially incentivize policy and law that directly affects us. We can all pontificate about whether the wealthy should be making decisions for the bottom 99% but since this is unlikely to change any time soon, if you can't beat 'em join 'em.

Let's make wealth together.