“All men (people) are created equal.” A wonderful sentiment, and possibly true at birth, but the parents’ income creates an instant inequality. The more the parents make, the more the child is likely to make. Born equal does not mean equal opportunity. The disparity is becoming more acute as income inequality is becoming more acute. In the US this means fewer people are believing in the American Dream. They’ve seen that working harder isn’t as important as being born into the right family. When luck plays that big a role, work plays a smaller role. This has accelerated since 1973 as productivity has grown 74% but wages have only grown 9%. Working harder makes more money – for someone else.
(Click on the chart for the link.)