>False dilemma. The choices are not "either get a good degree from a strong school, or make $10/hour forever". You're right that it's not yet that stark. None

>False dilemma. The choices are not "either get a good degree from a strong school, or make $10/hour forever". You're right that it's not yet that stark. Nonetheless, while we need a system which encourages, motivates, and rewards the people who succeed, we also need a system which doesn't abandon the people who don't make the cut. We can't just simply say "well, everyone had a shot" and leave it at that. There are millions of Americans who are working poor, and tens of millions more who are still struggling to get by in the land of plenty. >I'm not sure what your point is here. My point is that just because there are ways out for people who are unusually intelligent and unusually diligent doesn't solve the societal inequity, because not everyone can take advantage of those outs unless they suddenly get a lot smarter en masse. Again, even if we perfect meritocracy and all the incentives, we can't ignore the people who don't have IQs over 115 or whatever[1] [1] - or if IQ is an inadequate measurement, whatever measurement you have for merit.