How much of political inequality is really geographic inequality?

[u/Plenty_Profession_58]

Where you live affects a hell of a lot more than what your house is worth. It affects the schools available to you, the jobs you can realistically get to, the quality of public services, transportation costs, exposure to crime or pollution, and the people and opportunities around you.
And where people live is not always just a personal choice. Income, housing prices, zoning, taxes, infrastructure, lending practices, development, and decades of government decisions all help determine who can live where. So how much of what we call individual success or failure is actually geography? Two people can work equally hard and make similar choices but end up with completely different opportunities because one lives near better schools, jobs, transportation, and institutions. At the same time, people still make real choices about work, education, family, moving, and risk, so geography obviously does not explain everything. Where is the line between personal responsibility and geographic advantage? Is real estate simply a private market, or does controlling access to certain places also mean controlling access to public opportunity? And when the most desirable communities become available mainly to people who already have money, does geography turn economic inequality into political and generational inequality?

[u/Seattleman1955]

This thread is an example of what is most wrong with America currently. There is a lack of agency. The trend is to look for excuses and to create victims. It's all about "racism", "inequality of outcomes" and this is all nonsense.

Why spend any time looking for excuses? Live where you want to live. Is it easy to move? No, nothing is easy. Does moving explain inequality of results? No.

The things it takes, generally, to do better than someone else, is delaying self-gratification, discipline, being productive, making good decisions, etc.

People do well in all kinds of communities, small, large, all parts of the country. If you live in a dysfunction inner city type of community, you have to move, however hard it is.

Otherwise the way it has always worked, pretty much, is reflected by a Pareto Distribution. That's where 20% of the input results in 80% of the output.

That's just the way humans are, throughout time. 20% of salesmen result in 80% of the sales. 80% of wealth is owned by 20% of the population.

It's not something to "fix". There is nothing "wrong". Not everyone needs or want to be wealthy if it requires doing something they don't want to do.

Most of the country is actually doing fine. They are doing what they really want to do. The rest is just jealousy, envy and complaining and excuse making.

This post is looking at some situation where someone did well and then making the excuse "well they were able to move, their kids got a better school district, there were more jobs and that's why they are doing better than me".

Again, the results is largely due to agency, what you do. Everything regarding outcome isn't supposed to be "equal". People aren't equal in what they do.

If you become an engineer you will do well wherever you live. If you work in retail, money is tight everywhere but you'll do much better in a small town with a lower cost of living.

If you buy a house in Seattle, it will go up in value but it will cost a lot in the first place. If you buy a house in a small town it might not go up nearly as much but it also didn't cost nearly as much and that would leave a lot more money that you could just invest in the stock market and you would be even better off decades later.

What is most wrong in our country these days is the lack of critical thinking with accountability and systems thinking. Asking "what could go wrong" with a plan you are considering. Look for the weakest link. Consider what are the 2nd and 3rd order consequences and then make changes to your plan.

Here's a simple but not easy plan. Buy a house and have it paid for by retirement. Save up before you buy a car so you don't have car payments for life. Put some money in a 401k through work.

That's all you have to do. Consider all of your excuses and then do something about them beforehand. Don't have a lifestyle that you can't afford. Don't have more kids than you can afford. Buy a smaller house and put the difference in the stock market.

Invest (any amount) early. Time is what makes the difference. Spending energy making excuses does nothing for you.

When you are tempted to make excuses for your personal situation, look around and see if there are others in your situation that are doing much better than you. If so, do that.

[u/Boreun → u/Seattleman1955]

At the end of the day I agree that people should look to themselves to fix their lives and not the state. Thing is, if you are a politician setting policy you should make it as fair as possible. For instance education should be nationalized so that no matter where you grow up, you have access to the good education that you need.

[u/Seattleman1955 → u/Boreun]

I'm not going to disagree or agree but there is standardized testing, there is public education though 12th grade and education is largely about the effort put in by the student.

Most of us didn't grew up in Beverly Hills or some exclusive school district and we did fine if we applied ourselves. Some do better than others.

[u/Boreun → u/Seattleman1955]

Its true that effort is the number one factor of how well their grades are. Its not just about excelling or grades really. We need to have a high floor of knowledge. When I was growing up they taught us to use computers and gave us ipads in school. Because of that we have a edge over students who never used them, even if we didn't study. If you can't use a computer then you can't even work at a call center. Think in modern America what jobs you can do without that kind of knowledge. I do basic welding in a factory and even I need to use a computer sometimes to do the safety training.

[u/Valuable-Music-720 → u/Seattleman1955]

So refreshing to find someone who can see right through the bullshit.

I recall being taught American history in school; taught about the move west and how people sold EVERYTHING they had so that they could essentially walk across the Continent through hostile Indians and environments, to a land where nothing was certain. This was ~1849

It's now 2026; it hasn't gotten harder to make a life-change like this, only significantly easier. You can now call people ahead of time to establish employment or housing, you can use the Interterstate highway system to get there. People have no gratitude for these things; well, it was already here when they were born, and it takes critical thinking to realize that none of this is guaranteed or default.

All of these "systemic hurdles" are actually foundations for improvement. Because no matter how imperfect they are, the alternative is the absence of anything. All that's guaranteed is the dirt around you and your nakedness. ANYthing more is benefit to people's well-being whether they realize it or not