Prometheus 6

On the one hand she says

"I became so frustrated with visiting inner-city schools that I just stopped going. The sense that you need to learn just isn't there," she says. "If you ask the kids what they want or need, they will say an iPod or some sneakers. In South Africa, they don't ask for money or toys. They ask for uniforms so they can go to school."

And people laud her for the statement as much as the school. On the other hand I read this, about the same effort.

For Winfrey, making sure that the girls look pretty — or more accurately, feel pretty — is an important part of that mission....

While a beauty salon may be an unorthodox addition to the traditional educational experience, it is in keeping with the Oprah gospel of empowerment through self-love.

These girls have "never been told they are pretty or have wonderful dimples," Winfrey said in Newsweek. "I wanted to hear those things as a child."

Ms. Winfrey is an open-hearted sort, a thing I really appreciate seeing in people who are blindingly wealthy. And you get to do your philanthropy as you see fit.

I would just like the sister to reflect on the fact that her first institution-building efforts were in Africa. In the USofA she gave away an audience worth of cars. She picked the audience for known needs, and their needs are entirely different than those of South African children. Of course the response is different...which is kind of my point.

<set mode="chaoslord">

If we could reduce socioeconomic status to a single mappable factor (that is what y'all are trying to do, right?) you'd find most people's score don't change that much. Most people don't go bankrupt...well there's morals but that's another post for a future year...and most people aren't Oprah (who, given her beginnings, is a far better example to use here than the standard Bill Gates one...we're talking mobility rather than final magnitude). Statistical analysis will give you something pretty close to the standard distribution.

People apply that pattern when making their plans. That's why the odds of a wealthy man getting through the gates of Heaven are so small.

Mann, playing the role of a grumpy grandfather, complains that his money ruined his children, making them risk-averse and lazy. "Most of my children have lost the will to work," he lamented in a speech last year to Merrill Lynch brokers. "Three of my six children will not have contributed to make this world better in a meaningful way." For that reason he supports an estate tax.

Think about that imaginary socioeconomic mobility distribution curve (*gasp*) up there. Consider the folks you're concerned about. Consider the jobs that are that are "within range" of their current position. How many were done by college graduates as those people grew up and learned about the world? How many are underemployed right now?

And there's another factor. Time...more precisely, extension in time. Those in the best socioeconomic position get the best choices. They choose that which endures (I'm in Chaos Lord mode, so I can phrase it like that...nyah). In grubby human terms, that means they get the dependable stuff, the positions that are part of the structure, the positions that must be maintained. We, and I include Ms. Winfrey here, get the positions that are derivative of that structure.

Here's an example. New York City is in the process of modernizing it's subway system. They want to add some serious safety automation. I heard this about a year ago, I think. Couple of days after I heard it I saw an ad on the subway for a school to train digital transportation automation installation technicians. It's a thing you tell brothers about if you think they'd be interested, and you do know brothers that would be. And it's typical of the sort of opportunity Black folks in the particular socioeconomic position encounter...career "stepping stones over a river crossing" than career path. And they crop up in what looks like random fashion...who could predict the timing of a need for digital transportation automation installation technicians?

This creates a demand for medium term thinking. The economics of it is such that you can be penalized for going too long term.

Understand these things. I mean, given the nature of causality any credit or blame you humans assign for the actual outcome of things tends to be overstated in the first place. How many people raised exactly like Bill Cosby, Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Sam Walton are neither overwhelming successes or broke? Is their lack of mobility a moral flaw? I think not.

<set mode="mortal"> 

I can't say any of that stuff about South African kids. Apples and oranges.