When poor-boy-makes-good anecdotes get passed around in the media, that is precisely because such stories are so rare. The life prospects of a young American depend more on the income and education of his or her parents than in almost any other advanced country. The notion of the American Dream-that, unlike old Europe, we are a land of opportunity-is part of our essence. It is also one of a few developed countries jostling for the dubious distinction of having the lowest measures of equality of opportunity. It has the world's greatest per capita health expenditures yet the lowest life expectancy among comparable countries. has the highest level of economic inequality among developed countries. But some examples of American Exceptionalism should not make us proud. has by far the most Nobel Prize winners, the largest defense expenditures (almost equal to the next 10 or so countries put together) and the most billionaires (twice as many as China, the closest competitor). Americans are used to thinking that their nation is special.
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