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The Opportunity Gap By David Brooks

986 Words4 Pages

Keith Ferrazzi, an American author and founder of Ferrzzi Greenlight, who went to Harvard Business School, Harvard University, and Yale University once said, “Poverty, I realized, wasn’t only a lack of financial resources; it was isolation from the kind of people that could help you make more of yourself.” When families have a lack of resources it makes it hard for parents to spend money and time on their children and their children's futures. David Brooks, a journalist for The New York Times, has written several articles on social and political issues. He has also worked as a writer or editor for The Washington Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Weekly Standard, and The Atlantic Monthly. In his article, "The Opportunity Gap," he discusses …show more content…

The upper-class parents don't have to worry as much about money. David Brooks writes, "Over the last 40 years upper-income parents have increased the amount they spend on their kids' enrichment activities, like tutoring and extracurriculars, by $5,300 a year" (119). The upper-class parents spend more money on their children because they have the resources to do so. The lower-class parents don’t have the resources because they have jobs that don’t pay as much as the upper-class. So the money that they earn has to go to things that they can't go without, such as utility bills, groceries, gas, medical bills, car insurance, taxes, and more. This leaves very little money for them to spend on their children. The children then do not get access to the same resources that the upper-class children do, making it hard for them to succeed. David Brooks also states, "Richer kids are roughly twice as likely to play after-school sports" (119). In the article that David Brooks wrote he states that upper-class kids are more likely to play in sports, but the lower-class would be more likely to play in after-school sports in hopes that it could possibly earn them scholarships. They would need to earn these scholarships because their parents would not be able to afford to pay for their …show more content…

David Brooks states, "A generation ago, working-class parents spent slightly more time with their kids than college-educated parents" (119). The reason that they don't have time to spend on their children is because they have to work full time jobs, and usually both parents have to work to support the family. Also, some of them might have to work more than one job to support their family. The upper-class usually have to work full time jobs as well but they don't have to work as much as the lower-class to earn money. They also would not have to work overtime or have multiple jobs giving them more time to spend with their children. Even when the lower-class parents are home from work they still have to cook, do laundry, and clean making it so that they are unable to spend quality time with their

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