At least partly because when the 20% try to show the 80% that they need these things, the 20% get accused of cultural imperialism for daring to suggest that their values and culture are better than others'.
I was probably born in the top 20%. The culture I inherited was "learn in school, go to college, learn to do something that pays, get a job that pays well, don't waste your money". I definitely wasn't born rich, I haven't inherited at all (yet), and I don't hoard with an iron fist.
But thanks for smearing all 20% of us with your slur. It sounds like you don't know much about the bottom of the top 20%.
You don't see the inherited wealth here? The whole infrastructure you've described in your culture was built by previous wealth...
> learn in school
Easier in a wealthy school. May be impossible or extraordinarily difficult in a low income school.
> go to college
Easier if you come from a wealthy background. You may have legacy, or financial means to apply to more schools, or ability to take more test prep, etc.
> Learn to do something that pays
Are wealthy kids more likely to have mentors or connections in their network due to their parents? Are their parents more likely to understand which careers pay well?
> don't waste your money
Invest wisely? Someone taught me how to manage money beyond my immediate expenses, and compound interest works, and how different investments work, and what a mortgage rate was, and how I could evaluate a bank. Those are all skills that allow you to turn your money into more money more efficiently, and they are all skills typically associate with upper class folks.
> But thanks for smearing all 20% of us with your slur. It sounds like you don't know much about the bottom of the top 20%.
I am currently a member of the top 20%. I have also lived in the bottom 20% for years. At no point did I feel the parent comment was smearing anyone.
I see the inherited wealth of opportunity and culture. I don't see the "be born rich and hoard your wealth with an iron fist". I'm not trying to keep the children of factory workers from valuing college, or trying to make it impossible for them to go. I'm trying to encourage them to go, and to choose majors that will let them get decent jobs. The wealth that you're talking about, I'm trying to give away.
You're talking about telling people to "go to college" when food security is a daily problem they have to deal with, never mind affording SAT/ACT test prep/exam fees, and I'm not going to even bother with AP/SAT Subject Tests, probably things you took part in. And some of these people do go to college, but I very much doubt that the subset of colleges they applied to had much overlap with yours.
I was born in the bottom 20% and rose to around the top 20%. In order to do so, I had to sacrifice my personal health and risk financial ruin multiple times. I'm likely to need a full set of dentures by the time I'm 35-40ish.
Would I wish that upon anyone? Absolutely not. Which is why I believe in fixing things by removing the huge wealth disparity and actually providing a proper safety net for people. The culture I inherited required me to make many sacrifices which I'm sure other, far smarter people have made. The difference is that I was lucky enough to not be killed by them.
