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Poll results

At the Mainebiz "Five on the Future" forum Tuesday morning, Jeffrey Fuhrer, senior policy advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, shared data showing how the neighborhoods where people grow up affects their median income later in life. To illustrate the point, he presented case studies from Lewiston and Mobile, Ala., showing the income gap between pairs of people who grew up in each city.

"So much of economic destiny depends on where you were born" and local circumstances, he said.

Fuhrer underscored the need to help people left behind economically but noted that that the effort needs to be grounded in research and data.

 

Do you believe a person's economic future is determined by his or her birthplace?
Yes (52%, 36 VOTES)
No (48%, 33 VOTES)
Poll Description

At the Mainebiz "Five on the Future" forum Tuesday morning, Jeffrey Fuhrer, senior policy advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, shared data showing how the neighborhoods where people grow up affects their median income later in life. To illustrate the point, he presented case studies from Lewiston and Mobile, Ala., showing the income gap between pairs of people who grew up in each city.

"So much of economic destiny depends on where you were born" and local circumstances, he said.

Fuhrer underscored the need to help people left behind economically but noted that that the effort needs to be grounded in research and data.

 

  • 69 Votes
  • 3 Comments
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3 Comments

  • January 9, 2020

    There are confounding factors that impact where you were born such as education. It's very hard to even go to college or uplift yourself without good education, with varies wildly with geography.

  • January 8, 2020

    People need to be responsible for what they have and what they do and don't do as adults. Stop making excuses for where you were born, what gender you are and how disadvantaged you are. We are responsible for our own happiness as well as our own success. For example, it may take a little longer to get a degree if you have to work to pay for it yourself, but you can do it. Maybe there is a field you would like to go into but it is predominately filled with people who are the opposite gender you are ... well it may take time to change some minds, but put in the effort and change their minds. Pave the way for the next person instead of whining about how unfair it is.

  • Janet Wilson
    January 8, 2020

    It is probably true in the sense that a lot of people settle in the place where they grew up, and some places have more or less economic opportunity than others. But this is not so much about where they were born as it is about where they choose to stay.