America is turning into a lottery society

"Crumbs of bread for the plebs. They don't know how bad they've got it and let's keep it that way. Legacy is guaranteed for us, but we still have to let in a few scholarship charity cases to keep up appearances." - Plutocrats

America has always been a feudal, caste society, either overtly by location such as modern gated communities, or ubiquitously by speech, mannerisms, interests, and appearances. The other layers are that mainstream America worships certain extremes of celebrity, money, pedigree, power, race, and beauty.