In the first half, Harvard professor of public policy and author Robert D. Putnam discussed his groundbreaking examination of why fewer Americans today have the opportunity for upward mobility.
Americans have always believed in the equality of opportunity, but now, he argues, the central tenet of the American dream seems no longer true or at the least, much less true than it was.
Among his surprising findings were that smart poor kids (lower third of parental income, top third in test scores) have less chance of graduating from college than not-so-smart rich kids (upper third of parental income, bottom third in test scores).
Resources and support are increasingly available only to richer kids, as middle and upper class families deploy "air bags" to cushion their children from stressful or traumatic experiences or from mistakes they have made, while poorer families typically don't have these options, he explained.
We have mostly become a two-tier society, in which poorer kids simply don't have the same chances to excel, he said, and "that poses some serious risks to the whole country," in terms of possible civil unrest, as well as a future economic drain.
Putnam suggested more use of apprenticeships attached to community colleges as a stepping stone to good jobs, and holding politicians accountable for correcting the imbalance, and bringing back the American dream.
