Here, too, the Friedmans’ hopes have been disappointed. The end of American preeminence in education, the collapse of private-sector unions, the emergence of a winner-take-all information-age economy, and the return of Gilded Age-style high finance have produced an extraordinarily unequal pre-tax distribution of income, which will burden the next generation and make a mockery of equality of opportunity.
在这方面，弗氏夫妇的愿望再一次落空了。随着美国教育优势不再、私人部门工会的堕落、赢者通吃的信息时代经济的到来以及镀金时代高端金融的回归，税前收入分配出现了极大的不平等，这给下一代造成了沉重的负担，也是对机会平等的极大讽刺。