Richard V. Reeves's The Glass-Floor Problem

Many issues of society are hard to conquer due to the sheer vastness of our nation both in land and in population. Variables are a part of everyday life and one cannot simply eliminate them in macro-social situations. Social hierarchy based on wealth has been an integral part of societies for centuries, and the problem is still one has a solution being actively sought in the 21st century. In “The Glass-Floor Problem” by Richard V. Reeves, the idea of putting blame to post-secondary schools and employers is brought up. Reeves cites the issue as being that the rich have too many benefits are resources to pull from, while the poor cannot access these and thus fall further behind. The author, based on his writing, claims that the very definition of failure is one that brings with it a perceived ‘richness’. The points brought up by Reeves aren’t necessarily false or unjustified, however he either overreacts, overanalyzes, under analyzes, or does not make comprehensive points in the argument, and thus one might

I don’t think that Reeves is correct in his definition of the main issues in the topics he brings up. The main problems, as discussed above, are of much greater importance that very specific examples of outliers. In general I believe that society in its current form is acceptable in a socio-economic standpoint and is not a large problem when you consider the vast size of our land and the vast amount of persons that inhibit it. The author cannot compare the United Sates to other countries fairly because they United States is different. Any comparison drawn between countries is just as useful as comparing apple to oranges. The difference in societal values and pressures make for too many more variables in addition to the variables already present. We cannot compare our country to anyone but ourselves. We cannot drawn lines between facts that are too specific. We cannot take numbers as law, as Reeves