On Tuesday, David Brooks, the faux conservative columnist for the New York Times,

and a columnist so ensconced in rye analysis of the American upper middle class

that he seems to have completely lost touch with reality

and a pretty condescending column, aren't they all, about how upper middle class

Americans have created their own society.

Brooks's thesis, quote,

over the past generation, members of the college-educated class have become

amazingly good at making sure their children retain the privileged status. They've also become

devastatingly good at making sure the children of other classes have limited chances to join

their ranks. This is pretty astonishing claim, given that income mobility in the United States

hasn't really changed since the 1970s, and that income mobility in the U.S. is the same as Europe's, despite Europe's higher levels of redistribution. Virtually all differences in income mobility between the United States and Europe are attributable to dropping out of high school or having babies out of wedlock. But according to Brooks, the new elite have chopped off the ladder behind them. Brooks blames the pedicracy stupid. He cites

these facts, quote, upper middle class moms have the means and the maternity leaves to breastfeed

their babies at much higher rates than high school educated moms and for much longer periods.

Upper middle class parents have the means to spend two to three times more time with their

preschool kids than less affluent parents. Since 1996, education expenditures among the affluent have increased

by almost 300% while education spending among every other gloop is basically flat. Yes, it turns out

that making more money does accord your children extra benefits. But that doesn't mean that you are

responsible for shutting off someone else's path to success. According to Brooks, however, the upper

middle class has now become exclusionary. How so? First, Brooks cites zoning laws in college admissions.

Fair game for talk of bending rules in favor of the upper middle class, although it's important to

note that the vast majority of high school graduates in the United States now go to college,

66% as of 2013, including 46% of graduates from low-income families. But then Brooks gets weird.

...