On December 21st we took a taxi from Midway Airport to downtown Chicago. The driver was a young man from Ethiopia. Here's his story in a nutshell. He's married with four little kids. His wife's an RN. He's going to school and driving the taxi. When the children were tiny he and his wife never left them at day care. The parents worked different shifts so one of them was always home. He told us education is a priority in their home. Both for the kids and themselves. They are naturalized citizens.
On a seemingly different note, a couple of days ago we were listening to economist Clark Howard on the radio as we drove back to Florida from Atlanta. He said that, on his recent book tour, he asked the same question all across the country.
Will your children be as well off financially as you are?
Overwhelmingly, the answer was "No." And the economy seems to bear that out. The majority of us are getting poorer while a few are getting much richer.
But Clark says, and it's been proven by several studies, including a big PEW study, that there are two huge factors that turn that around. They are:
1. Getting an education.
2. Getting - and staying - married.
The folks in this country who are in the worst shape, by far, are single women with children.
So there you have it.
I think our young Ethiopian cabby friend in Chicago has a good shot at the American dream. His life is difficult but his priorities are straight.
***
On a seemingly different note, a couple of days ago we were listening to economist Clark Howard on the radio as we drove back to Florida from Atlanta. He said that, on his recent book tour, he asked the same question all across the country.
Will your children be as well off financially as you are?
Overwhelmingly, the answer was "No." And the economy seems to bear that out. The majority of us are getting poorer while a few are getting much richer.
But Clark says, and it's been proven by several studies, including a big PEW study, that there are two huge factors that turn that around. They are:
1. Getting an education.
2. Getting - and staying - married.
The folks in this country who are in the worst shape, by far, are single women with children.
So there you have it.
I think our young Ethiopian cabby friend in Chicago has a good shot at the American dream. His life is difficult but his priorities are straight.
***
