:smack:
I’m seeing more and more of this phenomenon, and it disturbs me greatly. Basically , my parents expected myseld and my siblings to achieve more out of life than they did. We fulfilled most of their expectations-we all posess advanced degrees, and have achieved middle-class income levels. None of us ever dablled in crime; and we don’t have police records. But now I’m seeing people like myself, whose kids are backsliding-several of my daughter’s friends have not persued college, and many seem content with a working-class lifestyle. meanwhile, the kids of Asian immigrants are busting their asses, working 2 jobs, going to school at night-and working hard! Why are these American kids so satisfied with mediocrity? I shudder to think what their lives will be like in 15-20 years-no degree, no trade, no skills…why is this happening? 
A wizard did it.
Is it really downward mobility–becoming poor, dabbling in crime, etc–or is it sideways mobility, from the professions to, for example, the skilled trades? You can make as much by being an electrician as by being an electrical engineer, for example, and both take as long to learn. The trades and the professions are both needed.