False Asumptions

Stephen Rose points to evidence that, yes, the middle class is shrinking. Of course, that's only because they are becoming upper class. But facts have never matter much to the left anyway.

One point that kinda bothered me though was this:

Two things set the top quintile apart: people in the top quintile are much more likely to have finished college, and they are much more likely to be in married, two-earner families. We can move more people up the ladder by doing two things: one, by helping more students graduate from college, and two, by supporting two-earner families in balancing work and family. This means such things as broad-based tuition tax relief, paid family leave, and more tax breaks for child care costs.

He assumes that finishing college is the important part. I beg to differ. College doesn't really provide you with any, you know, actual skills. The attribute that matters in seperating those that finish college and those that don't is intelligence, a drive to succeed and a good work ethic. I think that these traits are going to be far more prevalent in the top quintile than a college degree.

HatTip: Greg Mankiw