Social Mobility in America: Reality or Dream?

Richard V. Reeves of the Brookings Institution sums up some of his recent findings in a short Youtube video titled "Is America Dreaming?: Understanding Social Mobility," published yesterday. Using Lego blocks and figures, he demonstrates some of the qualities and factors that inhibit or help social mobility, and discusses how these relate to inequality and opportunity.

Reeves explains how American society is top-heavy in terms of economic wealth, the bottom quintile receive five percent of the money while the top quintile receives 52 percent. To understand American economic fairness, which Reeve defines as an individual's ability to advance from the bottom quintile, Reeves analyzes mobility for specific groups in the lower quintile's population: black Americans, white Americans, unmarried parents, married parents, high school dropouts, and college graduates.

Hat tip to Robert Puentes for sharing the video.