Regardless, when we stop looking at merit to judge people's work, we get into a very dangerous territory.
Identity politics is cancer.
There are a lot of capable people that will never have the same opportunities just by lottery of birth. It’s true they could try to be exceptional, but everyone can’t be and that’s a ridiculous way to attack poverty.
Technical positions requiring trade schools (or often just practical knowledge and a will to learn) pay better than many positions that require a university education.
Maybe the poor kid goes to a trade school moving up from poor to upper middle class.
The kid of said person would have a better start...repeat the cycle and after just 2-3 generations you have a Harvard/Stanford graduate
This is how many Jews and Asians moved up from being broke poor
Isn't mobility actually decreasing?
I also went to college in New Orleans, and my classmates got $700/mo. from the government if they stayed in school (no idea how, though).