最難獲得加薪的九大州

找份好工作，及時的被加薪，是多數人累積財富的不二途徑。但是，你知道嗎，不是在所有的地方，都容易實現這個夢想的。

說美國是個充滿機會的地方，但是，在很多地區，尋找和獲得機會的困難性，也依然很大。這裡列出的九個州，是美國尋夢者難以實現夢想的地方。很多時候，你不僅難以找到加薪的機會，甚至還很容易走到不得不面臨被減薪的困境。也就是說，隨着年歲的增加和經驗的累積，你獲得的收入很可能還會下降。

當然，這裡只是就平均情況而言。在這些尋夢艱難的地方，有個共同的特點是：居民的文化教育程度相對較低。以德州為例，24歲以上的成年人中，擁有高中以上畢業文憑的人數比例，也只有80%。如果繼續談有質量保證的高中畢業，可能比例就要低得多了。

即使在美國，高中教育也還沒有真正的實現普及。看來，人類實現文明的普及，還有很長的一段路要走了。

這從另外一個角度似乎也說明了問題：正是因為教育文化程度的偏低，才讓大家很難通過時間來增加自己的產出效率，結果，自然就是自己所獲得收入上升的困難了。有意思的是，德州生活在貧困線之下的人數比較高達25%，和為獲得高中畢業生的人數比例，似乎也很合拍。教育致富的道理，很多德州人還是沒有搞明白，也懶得搞明白。

所以，在我們為老闆打工的時候，第一件事不應該是嘮叨自己的收入高低，而應該是合計一下自己的工作，能夠真正給企業帶來的收益，以及和這份收益相比，自己所獲得的比例。否則，即使你的老闆想給你加薪，那麼，他又能從哪裡給你搞來錢付給你呢？

德州排在第一，北卡排在第四，佛羅里達州也名列前九名，是個讓人有點吃驚的事實。看來，想象中的富裕之地，和實際上的富裕，還是有很大的差別的。

再者，這裡的州份，多數在南方，是黑人和西班牙這些少數民族人數比例比較高的地區。有些少數民族的人們，文化教育的普遍低下，是造成這種格局的關鍵因素之一。問題是，即使從方方面面看都存在問題，但是，從目前的狀況看，在可預期的未來，這一格局好像也沒有獲得大的改變的可能性。

即使美國有奧巴馬這樣的很想關照低收入人們的總統，他所做所為，真的能夠在很大程度上幫助美國人們變的更為富裕嗎？我看，結果，除了財富的再分配和轉移，就是國家整體變的更為懶惰。也就是情況的惡化。

所以，在這一次的選舉中，我覺得，奧巴馬先生還是應該知趣的下課為好。美國需要改變，需要共和黨來拉動人們製造和創造財富的積極性。

The Worst States in Which to Get a Raise

May 10, 2012 by Mike Sauter

Nothing is more central to the American dream than the idea of economic mobility — the ability to move up the economic ladder. This week, nonpartisan think-tank Pew Research Center released a report demonstrating that the American dream is alive and well, although it is much stronger in some states than in others.

Based on the Pew report, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the nine states that are not exactly living the American dream. Residents of these states were less likely to move to a higher income bracket and much more likely to drop to a lower one.

To determine economic mobility, Pew looked at the prime earnings period for a large group of residents in each state, specifically, the 10-year period between an individual’s late thirties and late forties. Pew used three economic mobility measures: absolute mobility, which measures an individual’s wage increase over time, and relative downward or upward mobility, which measure a person’s movement up and down the earnings ladder over time relative to their peers. According to the report, nine states exhibited worse than average scores in at least two of the three measures.

Nationwide, absolute mobility, increased 17%. In many of worst-off states, it was as low as 12%. Nationally, 34% of those studied went up the earnings ladder, while 28% fell down the ladder. In the worst-off states, as little as 27% were able to move up the income ladder, while as much as 40% slid down it.

In an interview with 24/7 Wall St., Diana Elliott, research manager of the economic mobility project, explained that finding the reasons behind the different scores in economic mobility among states was beyond the scope of the study. But “we do know, based on our national research, that there are particular drivers of mobility,” said Elliott.

One of the most important drivers is education, Liz Voyles, communications representative for Pew, explained. “Educational attainment is an extremely powerful driver of upward mobility from the bottom, and protects from downward mobility from the top and middle.” According to Voyles, a four-year college degree “quadruples a person’s chances of making it all the way to the top of the income ladder if they start at the bottom.”

24/7 Wall St. reviewed high school graduation and college graduation rates to reflect the impact of education on professional success and income. All of the worst-off states have a relatively low portion of adults 25 or older with a high school diploma. Five of the six states with the lowest graduation rates among all 50 states are on this list.

According to Voyles, poverty, particularly childhood poverty, has a major effect on a person’s mobility throughout life on a national level. “Growing up in a high-poverty neighborhood during childhood increases a person’s chances of downward mobility by 52 percent,” Voyles said.

A review of regional data suggests that childhood poverty influences economic mobility by state as well. All nine of the states with the worst economic mobility were in the top third for poverty, and six were in the top 10. Eight of the 10 also had among the lowest median incomes in the country, including Mississippi, which has the lowest in the United States.

A final factor that appeared to have a strong correlation to economic mobility was labor force participation rate. The labor force rate reflects the total number of people working or actively seeking work. While the authors of the study did not discuss this trend, it suggests that a relatively high percentage of eligible workers are unable to work, possibly because jobs are inadequate or unavailable.

All but one of the states on the list were among the worst third for labor participation, and six of the nine were among the worst 10. Alabama, for example, has the second-worst labor participation rate in the country, with just 57.2% of eligible workers actively employed or searching for employment.

24/7 Wall St. examined Pew’s report, the Economic Mobility Project, which determines upward mobility, downward mobility and absolute mobility by state. Any state that was worse than the national average, after accounting for margin of error, in two of the three categories, made it on our list. 24/7 Wall St. also examined the percentage of 25-year-olds with high school and college educations, poverty rates, violent crime and median income from the Census Bureau. We also considered unemployment rates and labor force participation, provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

9. Alabama
> Absolute mobility change: 12%
> Percent with upward mobility: 27%
> Percent with downward mobility: 32%

Alabama’s absolute upward mobility — the increase in wages for the residents surveyed — was approximately 12%. This is tied for the worst increase among all states, along with South Carolina, which is in the same region. Just 27% of those studied experienced substantial upward mobility, well below the national average of 34%. Alabama has the sixth-lowest rate of high school graduation in the country, as well as the fifth-lowest median household income at $40,474 and the sixth-highest poverty rate of 17.4%.

8. Florida
> Absolute mobility change: 15%
> Percent with upward mobility: 32%
> Percent with downward mobility: 31%

Florida’s unemployment rate has been one of the country’s highest in the past few years, and its current rate of 9% is no different. The state also suffers from one of the most distressed housing markets in the nation. Home values dropped at the third-largest rate from 2006 to 2010, and the state’s foreclosure rate is the fourth highest as of October 2011. It is slightly more likely that one will move up economically than down in the state. However, it is the state’s downward mobility that is significantly worse than the national average.

7. Kentucky
> Absolute mobility change: 13%
> Percent with upward mobility: 34%
> Percent with downward mobility: 35%

Kentucky is the northernmost state in the country in our list of states with the absolute worst economic mobility. Wages for those surveyed in the state increased just 13%, compared to the U.S. average of 17%. Relative to the southeast region, however, upward mobility is actually quite strong in the state, with 42% of those studied improving 10 percentiles or more. However, Kentucky also has among the worst downward mobility, at 35%, compared to a national average of 28%.

6. Louisiana
> Absolute mobility change: 13%
> Percent with upward mobility: 28%
> Percent with downward mobility: 36%

Louisiana is one of three states in which all three measures of economic mobility are significantly worse than the national averages. The state is one of the country’s poorest, with a poverty rate of 17.8% and a median household income that is nearly $8,000 less than the national average. Louisiana also has one of the lowest high school graduation rates in the country. In addition, the state’s rate of violent crime is among the country’s highest.

5. Mississippi
> Absolute mobility change: 17%
> Percent with upward mobility: 26%
> Percent with downward mobility: 36%

Mississippi’s absolute mobility was on par with the rest of the nation, with earnings increasing roughly 17% over 10 years. However, upward mobility is the lowest in the country, with just 26% breaking out of their earnings bracket compared to a national rate of 34%. Far more residents were moving the other way. About 36% of those earning above the median dropped 10 percentiles or more. Mississippi is by far the poorest state in the U.S., with 21.8% of households living below the poverty line. The state also has the third-lowest rate of educational attainment — just 81% of residents 25 or older have a high school diploma.

4. North Carolina
> Absolute mobility change: 14%
> Percent with upward mobility: 26%
> Percent with downward mobility: 28%

North Carolina is tied with Mississippi for having the lowest relative upward mobility rate in the country — eight percentage points below the national average. Its absolute mobility change is three percentage points lower than the national average. The state’s unemployment rate is particularly high, at 9.7%. It also has a relatively low high school graduation rate of 84.7%.

3. Oklahoma
> Absolute mobility change: 14%
> Percent with upward mobility: 30%
> Percent with downward mobility: 33%

Oklahoma is one of just three states in the country, along with Louisiana and South Carolina, that is among the worst for absolute mobility, upward mobility and downward mobility at the same time. Unemployment is extremely low in the state, at just 5.4%. At the same time, poverty is high, and median income is extremely low. A full 18.9% of the state’s population lacks health insurance.

2. South Carolina
> Absolute mobility change: 12%
> Percent with upward mobility: 26%
> Percent with downward mobility: 34%

Absolute mobility, relative upward mobility and relative downward mobility are all significantly worse in South Carolina than in the country as a whole. The state is relatively poor. It has the seventh-lowest median household income in the country and the eighth-highest poverty rate. South Carolina also has one of the highest unemployment rates, at 8.9%. On top of all this, the state has the sixth-lowest labor participation rate in the country, at 59.3%.

1. Texas
> Absolute mobility change: 15%
> Percent with upward mobility: 31%
> Percent with downward mobility: 30%

Texas is tied for California as the state with the worst education attainment in the country — just 80.7% of residents over 24 have high school diplomas. The state also has the ninth-highest poverty rate in the U.S. and the highest percentage of residents in the country without health insurance, at nearly one in four. Texas has an upward mobility score of just 31% compared to the national average of 34%.

-Michael B. Sauter, Charles B. Stockdale