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In his second term, President Trump has promised to make America meritocratic again. In his joint address to Congress, he declared: “We believe that whether you are a doctor, an accountant, a lawyer or an air-traffic controller, you should be hired and promoted based on skill and competence, not race or gender.”
All of the occupations the president mentioned typically require college degrees, as well as advanced professional degrees for doctors and lawyers. But no college diploma is required for the three occupations in the United States with the greatest number of workers — home-health and personal-care aides, retail salespeople, and fast-food workers. In discussing economic opportunity, both Republicans and Democrats often overlook the 62% of Americans who lack a bachelor’s degree or higher.