It's a simple line graph that shows something awful about America. It shows how your income predicts your friends' income. If you're poor, your friends probably are too. If you're rich, 1 in 3 of your friends are also rich. Meanwhile, poor people make up maybe 1 in 6 of rich people's friends.
It's like we've sorted ourselves like coins in a machine. But here's what really gets me here. We didn't choose it. Nobody wakes up and says, "I'll only be friends with people who make what I make."It happens through all these tiny things we live with every day, but barely notice.
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Where you live picks your kid's school. The school picks their friends. Those friendships last into adulthood if they're lucky. Your job puts you around people who can afford to live where you live. And your hobbies cost what you can afford. Golf versus basketball. Sailing versus fishing.
Scientists call it homophily — or liking similar people — which sounds harmless, right?
But when similar means money, we're not just making friends.
We're building two different Americas that don't talk to each other.
So what do you think?
Let me know in the comments and check out more at jamesabrown.net.
On that note, I'm James A. Brown and as always, be well.
