The line where we aren’t a meritocracy. I have a good job. I had ACT prep and parents fortunate enough to have plenty of time to devote attention to my development. I did not however have any personal relationships that helped me get my job. Did I not earn it? I have a friend who works in investment banking. Family is super rich and has been forever. You’d know who his great great great grandfather was. He did not go to a target school. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the only person from that college working in investment banking. His dad is a lawyer in the industry he works in and relationships got him that job. Despite not being from a target school, he’s very intelligent and more than capable of doing his job well. Did he not earn it? I just don’t know where you draw the line. I genuinely do feel for people who don’t have the opportunities that allow them to reach their potential, but the narrative you often see on the subject of our meritocracy is silly.
There's lots of problems. There are extremely easy solutions to some, extremely complicated solutions to others. Some aren't going to get fixed because you can't strip people of their right to reproduce. Throwing money at it isn't ever going to fix it
You don't have what others do and it isn't fair. We need to be more fair and pity people that don't want it and take things from people that work to fix it
My wife's family work with migrant worker's kids. They bend over backwards to make sure these kids graduate college, and know all of their options for college. They make sure if they want to go to college, there is money, somehow, some way. They take them to Disney, DC, and new york. Guess what, after all that, some of the kids still don't make it.
It isn't a threshold, it was a positive correlation between measurements of success and parents' income.
What is the bias in a correlation? Do you believe there was much of a chance of any of Donald Trump's kids ending up struggling to make a living?
Depends on how you defines the parameters. You're smarter than this. As far as Trump and his kids, I don't know them. I try not to judge folks I've had no interaction with. How do you know any of them are actually successful?
Can I got back and request both genetic gifts and family wealth? Because I was born with neither and remain struggling to find one or the other.
Knowing I cannot do this, I strive to make sure my kids have it better than I did, but enforce the notion to them that they are no different than any other kid, rich, poor, gifted or no. Nothing gained in this world without effort.
And I answered that already. I'm a little surprised you aren't picking this apart more. Heck, it's even racially biased.
It seems much of the left wants a world where nothing anyone owns or has done was earned and nothing you’ve done poorly or cannot do is your fault. I’m not saying that’s you. I think you’re a fair and measured thinker but it’s still how it often feels.
But that's what it mostly is. A feeling. Very, very few people want that world, and they certainly would find all the present elected officials not far left enough.
