yeah, sorry, i edited my post now.

pure capitalism doesn't work and pure socialism doesn't either, you need a both to create a good society, i mean were would the world be if every university had tuition fees as high as harvard only the sons of the rich would be able to obtain higher education, and also working doesn't mean you will get the better job or the better salary sometimes being in the right place at the right time or having the right connections do the trick too

I am single, with no kids, so I am very well off here too. Just not what one would call rich.

If I had wanted to be a millionaire, I know 100% that I could have. I didn't want to do what it takes to get there though. I picked something I thought I would enjoy that gave me a standard of living I was happy with.

Making more money is great, but nothing comes without sacrifice. Akuma will make more money then me 4 years out of school, but he is going to go through a lot more school, and a lot more work in those 4 years, then I ever did. He will basically sacrifice 8-10 years of his life for a better life down the road. I didn't want to take that option (and to Akuma, he might not feel like it's a sacrifice, but I would have).

I work hard, but I like to play hard too... all work and no fun never really suited me :)

Anyway, this is why I find it hard to see people in the US asking for there government to provide for them. I don't know what it's like in the UK, but I live in a country with a lot of opportunity, and not a lot of people taking advantage of it. If you want to be successful in this country, all it takes is dedication towards the task.

I have yet to meet someone in this country who spent 2 hours a day towards bettering his position in life, and didn't succeed. it's there for the taking. Stop complaining, and take it! (Not directed at you SiFiBoy, as I have no clue what the climate in the UK is like).

You would never have only Harvard level tuition, because in a fee market, if there is a need, it's filled.

99% of all students that wanted a university education would not be able to afford those schools, so less expensive collages would always be around to make a profit from the customer base.

As for the line bolded, that's very true for minor (and sometimes not very minor) variations. If I graduate with a computer science degree, luck might land me a job earning 5-10k a year more, but I will still land a well paying job, even if I am unlucky.

Social Mobility?

I Think Its Pretty Low In The UK

I found this:

http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/facts/index24.aspx

Unless I am reading it wrong, it looks like the US and all other developing countries are about the same.

Also, I found this line to be exactly what I am talking about with this thread:

Since 1974 there has been a growth in household income inequalities. In 1974 the 10 per cent of households with the highest incomes had, on average, three times the income of the lowest 10 per cent, by 2001/2 the gap had increased so that the richest households had four times the income of the poorest. This was despite the poorest households seeing a 30 per cent increase in their income in real terms

So while the gap has increased, the poor have gotten a lot richer. I will take a 30% increase in the poor's income anyday.

Does that include inflation as well? Coulda sworn it's about the same %.

I really have no preference, as long as the government I live under lets me do what I want to do.

one question from the OP what make you think the one who got the promotion was the hardest at work, how do you know he didn't know the management better then the others?Don't you think the other 4 didn't work as hard as the one who got promote for the sake of the compagnie but only one of them got rewarded, like you said all of them were competant but only one got the job if he got hit by a bus the next day am pretty sure the other four would be able to do his job. The bad thing about capitalism is a lot do the job but only a few get the rewards, if a group of scientist manage to cure cancer only the guy in charge will get the nobel prize only him will get the millions only him will be remember by history, and to me that's a bunch of bullshit. That's the same with the ceo's getting millions when their subordonates are has usefull as them

too long, didn't read.

Mafoo, I think its a little short sighted for you to claim a longer life expectancy in the name of capitalism. We also have programs like Unemployment, Social Security, and the FDIC, which are all pretty much social programs that were propped up in the past 100 years.

The United States was also a pretty Po-Dunk country back then; definitely not a world power. What changed it? Well two world wars pretty much wiped out the economies of the european countries, leaving only the United States standing as a world power.

Not that I am against capitalism, but lets not pretend that it is the sole reason why America has become a Superpower.