The first article is American dream collapsing done by Jim Tankersley in 2016. The author is writing about the decline in several children earning more than their parents. In 1940, 92% of children earned more than their parents compared to 46% in 1980 (Tankersley, para 2). The biggest conversation is about the upward mobility decline more so for middle-class Americans. In the second article about fading American dreams done by Chetty et al. in 2016, the authors analyze the children’s prospects of earning more than their parents showing fading over the past fifty years in the US. The biggest conversation is about the fall of income mobility that has resulted in inequality in income distribution hence adversely affecting the US economy.
Audience
Tankersley targets the policymakers in the US who have the task of giving more Americans a chance to earn more than their parents. Externally, the author has focused to explore ways in which the US executive led by the US President could do to improve the economic mobility for people who do not have white-collar jobs (Tankersley, para 4). In the second article, the authors have written the article targeting a general audience but are more of people who can regulate the way the economy is distributed in society. Therefore, the government, the general public, and any other stakeholder in matters of the economy are welcome to read this article. The authors mention different states such as Indiana, New York, and Montana (Chetty et al., 5). Externally, the authors have affined themselves more to enlighten the public about economic matters.
Rhetorical appeals
In the first article, the author has used logical appeal intending to quantify the need for change that can enable children out-earn their parents. He says that “If added together, those tweaks could raise the odds of a child born in the 80s out-earning his or her parents to at least 2 in 3 – though that would still be substantially less than the odds for a child born in 1940” (Tankersley, para 6). Thus, that is a way to challenge the policymakers and bring to the attention of the public the possible solution on the issue. On the other end, Chetty et al have used logical appeal in showing the outcome of uncertain aspects of income mobility that have led to inequality. “These calculations show that plausible adjustments to children’s incomes are unlikely to change the conclusion that absolute mobility has fallen sharply from the rates of 80 to 90% experienced by children born in the 1940s and 1950s” (Chetty et al., 7). Therefore, the reader will be probed to reflect critically on the required measures to combat income immobility.
Mode and Media
The first article was published by the Washington Post and the public can be accessed through digital links which are opened online without subscriptions. The article is both digital and print out and uses text, graphical representations, and video clips to press on the main topic. The other article is written on various media platforms such as the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) being the primary source. Others include Science publication, Opportunity Insights, and Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality (SCPI). The article is both digital and uses text, graphics, and video to present the information to the audience.
Genre Elements
Tankersley has structured his content well through the use of paragraphs and graphs to analyze his main points. He has separated the text by headings and highlights by bolding. There is the use of colors to show the curves in the graphs and there is the provision of external links in case the reader wants to research more on a given topic or sub-topic. The other article authors have neatly presented information. There is the use of paragraphs to show a fresh idea or aspect in the discussion. the graphs have a heading and caption including the key to show the basic concept being discussed. The authors have enabled the reader to access their external content through the provision of links provided at the end of the article.
Style
In the first article, Tankersley’s tone is solemn as he expresses himself formally and sincerely concerning economic matters. For example, he says “I do believe that kids born after the 1930s are doing worse relative to their parents than kids born 1900-1930, and kids born in 1970 are not typically doing better than their parents in terms of educational attainment or income” (Tankersley, para 12). This shows that he has based his conclusions on thorough research and citing of scholarly information. The language is convincing and probes the audience to believe his key concerns.
In the second article, the authors’ tone is deeply felt with earnestness and persuading. For example, the authors write that “Together, these counterfactual simulations show that increasing GDP growth without changing the current distribution of growth would have modest effects on rates of absolute mobility” (Chetty et al., 8). The authors have cited necessary work and given experimental methodologies that give conclusions about the varying degrees in economic matters. They have given estimations from statistical figures which can easily persuade a reader to understand the main points under analysis by the authors. Their language is focused to educate and not compromising what was written before the article. That makes it easy for the authors to base their arguments on logical grounds.
Design
The first article looks like a formal magazine that intends to pass on important information to the audience. The reason is that it is detailed and contains breaks and major highlights by use of graphs and video as elements of reinforcing the information. The text and graphs work together by giving an imagery plan in the minds of readers hence, possible to bring attention to details when comparing the presentations. Chetty et al.’s article looks like a research project because it has many expressions that are meant to justify or give a rationale on the aspect being analyzed. Through the article, the graphs reinforce the text by giving a direct imagination and contemplation of the decline in the economic cues that has led to inequality when it comes to children out-earning their parents.
Sources Used
Tankersley has cited Raj Chetty, and other authors and frequently attributes most of his reasonings to the authors. For example, he says “New research this week, from economists Thomas Piketty, Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman shows the bottom 50 percent of U.S. income earners only gained 1 percent in earnings from 1962 to 2014, after adjusting for inflation” (Tankersley, para 10). Additionally, some hyperlinks lead to external sources to ensure that reader can expand their knowledge on the topic. In the other article, the authors have strongly attributed their work to other sources and have applied the use of footnotes to refer to a specific concept. Some of the articles consulted include Moreover, policies that promote higher GDP growth could also lead to more broadly distributed growth (Chetty et al., 6). The authors have used appendices to show additional information and provided links on the sources to increase authenticity.
Works Cited
Chetty, Raj et al. “The Fading American Dream: Trends in Absolute Income Mobility Since 1940“. Journal of Economic Models, vol 45, no. 12, 2016, pp. 5-11. National Bureau of Economic Research. Web.
Tankersley, Jim. “American Dream Collapsing for Young Adults, Study Says, As Odds Plunge That Children Will Earn More Than Their Parents“. Democracy Dies in Darkness, 2016. Web.