What Would Mao Say?

FELICIA R. LEE writes (link via Charles Murtaugh) researchers find that lumping people into social classes

on the basis of their incomes ultimately had little to do with what they bought, what they watched or whom they voted for. Rather, cultural and political similarities are more likely to be found among people who are in the same profession or do the same type of work, reinforced first by educational training and then by work experiences.

So class doesn't matter? But then, other researchers look at the question in economic terms, and conclude that class mobility has decreased. One says

"Twenty years ago, going to college was enough. Now, it has to be an elite school. The American dream is being sorely tested."

Oh, yeah? That's not what this report says. (courtesy Jacques Steinberg). While women's salaries will be somewhat higher if they graduate from an elite school, it's not by a whole order of magnitude. And for men, going to an elite school helps even less. Is the gummint lying?