ID | 116120 |
Title Proper | It's hard to make it in America |
Other Title Information | how the United States stopped being the land of opportunity |
Language | ENG |
Author | Kenworthy, Lane |
Publication | 2012. |
Summary / Abstract (Note) | For all the differences between Democrats and Republicans that were laid bare during the 2012 U.S. presidential campaign, the parties' standard-bearers, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, do seem to have agreed on one thing: the importance of equal opportunity. In remarks in Chicago in August, Obama called for an "America where no matter who you are, no matter what you look like, no matter where you come from, no matter what your last name is, no matter who you love, you can make it here if you try." The same month, he urged the Supreme Court to uphold affirmative action in public universities, putting his weight behind what has been a mainstay of U.S. equal opportunity legislation since the 1960s. Days later, the Republican vice presidential nominee, Paul Ryan, echoed Obama's sentiment, saying, "We promise equal opportunity, not equal outcomes." Romney, too, argued that whereas Obama "wants to turn America into a European-style entitlement society," his administration would "ensure that we remain a free and prosperous land of opportunity." |
`In' analytical Note | Foreign Affairs Vol. 91, No.6; Nov-Dec 2012: p.97-109 |
Journal Source | Foreign Affairs Vol. 91, No.6; Nov-Dec 2012: p.97-109 |
Key Words | America ; United States ; Minorities ; Women ; Barack Obama ; Mitt Romney |