I'm going to play devil's advocate, I suppose. But first, some disclaimers: - holy shit our system is fucked and the wealth distribution is unacceptable (side note: feel the bern) - no one should have to go into debt to pay for food, housing, education, healthcare, etc. Everyone benefits when all people all allowed free access to these things. - there are a lot of entitled, ungrateful people out there. And they need a reality check.

So. I have wealthy parents. I had the advantage of living in a nice neighborhood, going to a quality public high school, having parental support, etc etc. My parents paid for my college in full. This is my perspective and I fully understand that I have no right to make assumptions about people who have not had the privilege I have. However...I think that we're criticizing the wrong people. People who have financial advantages and who use them in positive, constructive ways are not the problem. They're lucky as hell, but using the resources you have access to in order to further your education is not inappropriate behavior. (Spending mommy and daddy's money on shoes and purses...not so much.)

[side note: a lot of people get screwed over because their parents make a lot of money but won't pay for education. Meaning no scholarship despite having no other way to pay for school]

Money cannot make up for laziness or stupidity. It doesn't improve your ACT, make professors give you better grades or make bosses lower their expectations (unless your boss is your dad or something?). It can make working your ass off less stressful...but you still have to work your ass off. It doesn't ward off depression or tragedy. It isn't an excuse for making stupid mistakes. It won't guarantee you get a good job. Most connections you make will have nothing to do with your background or finances. I'm by no means saying that growing up privileged has no effect on future success...but throwing money at your problems will make them magically disappear.

"Rich kids" are kind of like toupées and drawn-on eyebrows...you only notice the bad ones. Others are using the tools they were given to become educated and improve the world (often while working shitty jobs to pay for shitty apartments, cheap food, and overpriced textbooks). Unless they're douchenozzles, don't resent people who use their resources productively. Resent the system that makes it nearly impossible to make a living on minimum wage, get a college degree sans scholarship, and pay for a visit to the doctor without selling your firstborn child.

I hope I'm not making myself look like an entitled douchenozzle, but I think we need to all work together towards the common goal of making everything less sucky, regardless of SES. We can't change the world we were born into, but we can change the world we leave behind.

Also goberniego