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Economic Inequality and College Access

Economic Inequality and College Access. American Meritocracy In Trouble? “A growing body of evidence suggests that the meritocratic ideal is in trouble in America. Income inequality is growing to levels not seen since the Gilded Age, around the 1880’s.” - From The Economist, Dec. 29, 2004.

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Economic Inequality and College Access

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  1. Economic Inequality and College Access American Meritocracy In Trouble? “A growing body of evidence suggests that the meritocratic ideal is in trouble in America. Income inequality is growing to levels not seen since the Gilded Age, around the 1880’s.” - From The Economist, Dec. 29, 2004 Economist

  2. Economic Inequality and College Access Between 1979 – 2000, Growth of Real Income: • Bottom 20% of Households: + 6.4% • Top 20% of Households: +70% • Top 1% of Households: +184% • And, the higher you go, the faster the growth. Economist

  3. Economic Inequality and College Access • Top 100 CEO’s Compensation: • 1975: $1.3 Million (39 x avg worker pay) • 2005: $37.5 Million (1,000 x avg worker pay) Economist

  4. Economic Inequality and College Access • In 2001, top 1% of Households earned: • 20% of all income. • 33.4% of all net worth. • Largest aggregation since pre-depression days. • “The past couple of decades have seen a huge increase in inequality in America.” Economist

  5. Economic Inequality and College Access GROWTH OF SOCIAL SCLEROSIS DEMOCRATS: • John Kerry, 2004 Presidential Nominee: • Richest Man in Senate full of Plutocrats. • Boston Brahmin Ancestry • Education: St. Paul’s, Yale (Skull & Bones) • Al Gore, 2000 Presidential Nominee: • Son of Senator, Political Aristocracy • Education: St. Albans, Harvard REPUBLICANS: • George Bush, President. • Grandson of Senator, Son of President • Education: Yale (Skull & Bones), Harvard MBA Economist

  6. Economic Inequality and College Access ELITES PERPETUATING THEMSELVES • America Looking Like Imperial Britain: • Entertainment Industry • Wall Street • Students in Elite Institutions • And (as mentioned), political community. "The United States risks calcifying into a European-style class-based society." Economist

  7. Economic Inequality and College Access • Study of 6,273 Black & White American Families over 32 years. • Poorest fifth: • 42% stay where they started. • 23% moved to next-to-bottom group. • 6% made it to top fifth. • Source: Thomas Hertz, American University, Washington.D.C. Economist

  8. Economic Inequality and College Access • PUSHY PARENTS, DRIVEN BRATS. • U.S. Elite Live in Competitive Universe…Amongst Themselves. • Only tiny sliver of society competing for admission to schools like Amherst, not the full range of society. • Upward Mobility increasingly determined by educational level. Economist

  9. Economic Inequality and College Access • America’s Elite Colleges and Universities are Reinforcing Educational Inequalities. • 3/4th of students in top 146 U.S. Colleges from richest socio-economic group. • 3% come from poorest group. • The Economist Notes: At Harvard, median family income for students on financial aid: $90,000. Average estimated Harvard undergraduate’s family income, no documented figures. Economist estimates $150,000, non-documented. • "America's great universities are increasingly reinforcing rather than reducing these educational inequalities." Economist

  10. Economic Inequality and College Access Flawed Admission Standards: • Affirmative action more likely to benefit sons and daughters of already achieving. • In Ivy League Legacy admissions, legacies make up 10-15% of every class. • The Economist: “The students in America’s places of higher education are increasingly becoming an oligarchy tempered by racial preferences.” Economist

  11. Economic Inequality and College Access FROM THE WASHINGTON POST: " The mostly middle-class academic stars who get into Amherst have all the motivation, family support and academic skills they need to get a degree, and most of them do it in four years, not six. The less affluent and less self-confident students who go to Cal State Los Angeles or Texas State San Marcos often have families to support, full-time jobs and other distractions that make it less likely they will ever walk across a university stage in cap and gown." - February 1, 2005

  12. Economic Inequality and College Access What Do These Reported Trends Mean for… • Amherst and other “Elite” Colleges • The Enterprise of Higher Education as a Whole • The Role of Higher Education in 21st Century America

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