Between 1973 and the turn of the century, real income rose by 21 percent for Americans with advanced degrees and fell for everyone else: by 4 percent for college grads, 26 percent for high school grads, and 38 percent for dropouts. Now, getting stuck in a relationship due to an “accident” could mean the difference between an exciting life spent adventurously climbing the social ladder and bottom-rung drudgery.
