My story is the story of many postwar British families. Upward mobility. A council house and then new affluence.

Not every seed planted in rich soil grows, nor every seed planted in poor soil fails. That is why we need public education.

If we are serious about providing upward mobility and building a skilled workforce, pre-school is the place to begin.

The problem, gentlemen, is that Obama is right: The promise of upward mobility is dying in America, and no amount of political demagoguery will fix it.

We believe that the government has an important role to create the conditions that promote entrepreneurship, upward mobility, and individual responsibility.

I consider myself fortunate to have grown up in Brooklyn. It's what gave me my drive to succeed, the upward mobility I've been after my whole life.