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You know what's odd? Most here are focused on the theoretical opportunities available to Americans -- does each individual person have an "opportunity" to make it in the world, to succeed in life? Much of the discussion in the thread is focused like a laser on that issue. Genes, genetics, environment, etc.
I think the reason for that is people, particularly the right-leaning crowd, want to make benefit determinations based upon whether a person needs society's help because of some personal failing, because they didn't "try" hard enough.
While that question is interesting to me, it really is of little value in the real world. A 22 year old single mother in the South Bronx with a 7 year old, a 4 year old and a baby of 6 months no doubt made bad choices in her life, and could have, in a theoretical world, "succeeded." If she had not dropped out of school, if she had practiced celibacy, if she had kept her job at the coffee shop and saved her money, if she had put oil in her car before it blew up, if, if, if ...
But she didn't do all those things, and never will. To her, "success" is finding 3 or 4 eggs to make breakfast, or getting her 7 year old's hair done pretty, or getting her mother to repay the $5 she lent her.
There are millions like her, tens of millions probably. Society needs a way to deal with them. Society needs a way to help the children of these people escape their parents' fates. Not for them, for US. For our country, our society.
Going around judging whether these people are in the position they are because of laziness or fate or genetics does not move the ball. Figuring out a social program that helps them succeed, and gives their kids a chance to succeed, does.
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