
Lost Diamonds: How our current system is failing underprivileged talent - nkurz
https://shift.newco.co/lost-diamonds-98f950786a49
======
trjordan
I wish I could remember where I read this, but I once heard it explained to me
as this:

It's easy to deride the journey of the rich college student: 80-hour
internships at Goldman Sachs, unpaid positions in government, etc. But, the
things that are done by successful people are hard, as hard as walking a
tightrope. The difference is that rich students walk this tightrope over a bed
of pillows. Poor students walk it over an open pit of spikes.

Obviously falling off onto a cushion is easier. What's less obvious is how
nerve-wracking it is to know that there are real consequences. Danger creates
stress, and stress ruins results. Paradoxically, if you know you have more
than one shot, you're more likely to succeed on your first try.

~~~
ryandrake
I knew someone who was so aggressively proud of their success, having founded
and grown a successful business. He'd talk your ear off about how people like
him were the ones adding value to society and how unsuccessful people are just
lazy and don't try hard enough or don't take enough risks, or are just
deadbeats, and how successful, hard working people are punished with taxes--
you know, the standard soapbox speech. I mean, reading that description, he
sounds like that cliche "Cartoon Republican Villain", but it really was that
way!

What he wouldn't easily admit was how this successful business was his sixth
try, having blown what, to me, seemed like a small fortune on each of his
previous attempts. He always had a rich family to fall back on, living off of
them while he dreamed up his next attempt to "add value." Finally
(inevitably), one of them stuck, so obviously this is proof that he's self-
made and his success was due entirely to his own "hard work".

If you grow up poor without a fallback, you pretty much have one shot, if
you're even able to save up for that one. You mess up, and you're pretty much
hosed. On the other hand, with an infinite money cushion, you get to keep
shooting until you hit the target. What's the saying? Going from $0 to $1M is
almost impossible--going from $1M to $2M is almost inevitable.

~~~
nugget
> Going from $0 to $1M is almost impossible--going from $1M to $2M is almost
> inevitable.

I know plenty of people who inherited money and blew it all.

Very, very few people, even children from ''rich'' families, have an
''infinite money cushion''.

People who come from poverty or communities rampant with discrimination often
times have to work harder for opportunities. But hard work is hard work, and
there is fierce competition at every level, no matter who you are. I hesitate
to take anything away from anyone's success.

And if you think making your first million from scratch is ''almost
impossible'' you should look around any suburb of Silicon Valley at the many,
many immigrants who came here with nothing and have saved up that amount, or
more. Lots of luck, to be sure, but lots of planning, discipline, deferred
gratification, and hard work too.

~~~
wang_li
(0% of families dissipate their wealth within three generations. This suggests
that there is a constant up welling of people who accumulate wealth. The
proposition that there is some fixed group of rich people sitting at the top
is absurd.

[http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB100014241278873246624045783346...](http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324662404578334663271139552)

~~~
yoha
Edit: the actual figure is 90%

For other people struggling to read this comment: "(" is on the same key as
"5" on Azerty keyboards.

~~~
wang_li
It's also a capital 9. I'm so ashamed. The number is supposedly 90%.

~~~
gbersac
Did you know you can edit your post? I think yours deserve it.

~~~
wang_li
It appears that after a certain amount of time the edit capability is
unavailable.

------
allovera
This article had me in tears. I grew up so poor I often didn't have shoes and
wore dollar-store flip flops in the winter.

Deadbeat dad, opiate addict mother. I was shuffled constantly from relative to
relative, friend's house to friend's house. I had some very supportive
teachers, including one who paid for my AP tests and SATs. I got an offer to a
university in the UC system. Life was looking up!

In the last semester of my senior year, my stepmom kicked me out of my dad's
house. I shuffled back and forth between friends' houses, too embarrassed to
explain the situation to an adult. I had to sleep rough a few times and got
pneumonia from not having a whooping cough vaccination. I coughed so hard my
ribs cracked. I missed a class where I had to turn in a midterm, my teacher
wouldn't accept it late ("you kids always make up excuses"), I couldn't get a
doctor's note because I hadn't been to the doctor. Welp, failed the class. The
university rescinded my admission for the failed grade. I lost all my
scholarships. I ended up bouncing around homeless shelters for a few months
while I recovered my health.

Eventually, I went to community college, transferred to a top 10 university.
Now I work at Amazon as an SDE and make well over six figures. Happy ending,
right? Well, no -- for years, I blamed myself for "blowing" that university
opportunity. I felt horrible. I felt so ashamed.

~~~
mixmastamyk
Well, now you can forgive yourself and be proud of what you've accomplished
and will continue to.

~~~
allovera
I find the opposite - I'm deeply ashamed about growing up in poverty and
rarely admit it. When it comes up, I find it creates distance between myself
and my co workers. They get uncomfortable and I always feel like they think I
am judging them somehow.

I don't seem poor anymore: thousands of dollars on dental care, I dress OK, I
have a fairly polished accent now. I don't talk to most of my family. My old
friends live several thousand miles away and their world of drug abuse,
poverty, and dysfunction is now one I only experience via the occasionally
post I read on my Facebook feed.

The PTSD remains -- the anxiety attacks in the middle of the night when I
think I hear yelling, the flinching and heart palpitations when a co-worker
sneaks up on me as a joke. I feel ashamed to mention this as well, because
PTSD seems to have become a fashionable affliction to claim to have, like
Celiac disease. I look for all intents and purposes like a normal 20something
white girl. The few times I mentioned PTSD I actually saw someone eye roll.
They don't know about flashbacks to homeless shelters, finding people OD'd in
bathrooms, being attacked for just existing.

I think the social circles I now move in have made all of this unmentionable.
I am glad the author of this piece is at least bringing it up and talking
about it. The isolation I feel among co workers and friends now is often very
intense.

~~~
heimatau
I'm with you in a lot of this. I grew up poor and all I've known is poverty. I
clinch my pennies but I'm generous when I'm able. But I do have a very real
awareness of my impending doom, be it a financial mishap or whatever.

If it wasn't for 'Obama Care' I wouldn't be on Strattera for my ADD. Nor
would've I been suggested this [1] for my anxiety, by my doctor. It's helped
me significantly, a DIY assistance for coping with anxiety.

I have a mild form PTSD. When you said 'flashbacks...middle of the night
screaming'. It triggered an affirmation that I _do_ have PTSD. I've been
struggling with this idea for quiet some time but...it's mild and not
constant. I know you're not a doctor nor do I want to get into all the details
but growing up in an abusive/malnorished home, it's very real. Heck, I became
homeless as an adult too.

Finally, I want to gently suggest you look into getting help. Meaning, a
shrink. Either doing talk therapy or consider medications, if they are truly
needed. Keep in mind, it's not a black/white science. You'll need to
experiment with your treatment to find what suits you best. I went on 4
different ADD meds before Strattera was a solid fit. Adderall helped but...the
side effects were bad. Also, soonish, I've be working with someone to help aid
my psychological restoration. ADD, anxiety, depression, PTSD, and
assertiveness will be my topics that I'd like to tackle because even though
I'm doing decent now, I _do_ need a helping mind to help me navigate through
these issues/challenges in my life.

[1] -
[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/160623918X/ref=oh_aui_sear...](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/160623918X/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

------
ajkjk
For a year or so I've been keeping an ad hoc record (a text file!), to the
best of my ability, of all my financial losses due to personal mistakes - so,
moving out of my old apartment a month late was a 1200$ mistake, and dropping
and breaking my phone was a 200$ one. I'm also trying to keep track of very
risky behavior that didn't become an actual financial loss: driving in NYC
during the blizzard last year didn't actually lead to my car being damaged, or
to requiring a tow, but the chance of one of those happening was at least
substantial, probably 20-50% - so it's a financial error of a few hundred
dollars, maybe, anyway (this doesn't have to be precise).

I've learned from this that I lose far more money to incidental errors than I
realized. Lots of small expenses like parking tickets, breaking things,
misplanning my day and paying for Lyft/Uber or other luxuries to make up for
lost time, buying things I already own, etc - it all really adds up.

But a few days ago I mentioned this to a friend, and after a second of thought
she just said, "well, isn't it nice that all your mistakes can just be fixed
with money?"

~~~
germinalphrase
Another way of thinking about this is the phrase: it's expensive being poor.

If you don't have the excess income to absorb these small
mistakes/oversights/misfortunes then there are secondary effects (job loss,
civil fines, court fees, etc.) that can destroy you financially.

Edit: butchered my phrase

~~~
walshemj
No its the Sam Vimes boot theory.

"The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they
managed to spend less money.

Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus
allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an
affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then
leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars.

Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles
were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night
by the feel of the cobbles.

But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could
afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that’d still be keeping his feet dry
in ten years’ time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would
have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have
wet feet.

This was the Captain Samuel Vimes ‘Boots’ theory of socioeconomic unfairness"

A real word example is my Barbour jacket cost around $600 but it will last 30
years

~~~
dwaltrip
One doesn't acquire multiple millions (or more) by buying expensive, high-
quality items.

Clearly, this is not the primary driver of wealth accumulation.

~~~
walshemj
It is if it save you money over the longer term

------
tajen
I'm in France and I sometimes notice that USA articles focus only on
underpriviledged _talent_. Why only the talents? It's a bit like rape is
fought against, except in prisons because they're lower-grade citizen. Or like
articles describing unwarranted violence from the SWAT teams: "The family was
playing poker, they got busted for illegal gaming, 3 died" will trigger fewer
reaction than "The SWAT team killed the dog." US articles often focus on a
subset of the unpriviledged population.

Let's recall that our civilization needs to take care of everyone, even if
they're not talented or guilty at some level. Not everyone is cute, but
everyone needs to be saved.

~~~
simplemath
Empathy is a dying sentiment in this country.

We've made the horrible mistake of conflating "success" with morality; i.e.
"the poor are just lazy", or "this wealthy person is automatically a paragon
of good judgement"

~~~
Terr_
It's a human problem, not a modern-day nor US-only one. It seems we're all
intrinsically prone to the "Just World" hypothesis.

Consider the historical examples -- widely spread over cultures and times --
of where the wealthiest and most powerful people are assumed not just to be
"good people", but God-approved or even proto-deities themselves.

------
hayksaakian
The most important thing nobody teaches lower class people is how to work "the
system."

"work hard" is the catch phrase everybody shouts from the roof tops.

It's a lot like tax filing / accounting, or hiring a lawyer for a public
trial.

In the case of the lawyer, society has recognized how absolutely hopeless it
would be to defend yourself in criminal court, and the law entitles every
individual to an attorney. A lawyer helps you navigate the 'courts system'.

Tax filing is similar but less extreme. You can make a simple error on your
taxes, or grossly overpay without an accountant. An accountant helps you
navigate the 'tax system'.

Everyone with some level of wealth understands the value of a good lawyer or a
good accountant.

To make it simple: when you're coming from poverty there are many important
things that "you don't know that you don't know". Coming from wealth, you have
the advantage of "knowing about what you don't know".

~~~
mixmastamyk
So, what they need is some sort of advocate to show them the ropes. Sounds
doable, if approached respectfully. Vaguely reminds me of the book "Rich dad,
poor dad."

~~~
pnathan
> what they need is some sort of advocate

In brief, because I'm at my day job: no. That is not the right approach. That
is the approach that gets one labeled an elitist and a snob. It's not
appreciated by the little people you're trying to help.

The correct approach is one which maximizes agency. This will have a wider
variance of success, but will be received far better.

~~~
mixmastamyk
That's why I wrote "respectfully".

~~~
ducttapecrown
Offering aid without first having been asked for it could be considered
disrespectful, condescending, etc.

~~~
mixmastamyk
Do you honestly believe I'd advocate forcing or pressuring people? How bout a
little less defeatism.

No, I'm thinking something like coaching for people who are looking for a way
up.

~~~
int_19h
Honestly, a lot of this kind of coaching belongs as a mandatory class in
school.

------
gthtjtkt
Just to offer a slight counter-point re: privilege.

Where I grew up, telling someone "I want to go to vocational school instead of
college" was no different from telling them "I want to be a prostitute when I
grow up". Hell, even joining any form of armed service was _extremely_ frowned
upon.

In many cases, this led to otherwise bright, gifted people becoming "failures"
because they were too afraid to do what they wanted and instead followed the
socially acceptable path (college) where they never had any hope of
succeeding. They struggled to finish useless degrees they never wanted, earned
a decent chunk of debt in the process, and ended up with soul-crushing jobs,
the main benefit of which was the fact that they earned enough money to
continue showing up at their soul-crushing job for many years to come.

Hooray, privilege!

~~~
BigJeffeRonaldo
Being against military service sounds like the 110iq librarian in a town full
of low 95 iqers. Some of he smartest kids I know (many from very good
backgrounds) went west point then 11b and now are flying up management fast
track in some prestigious industries. Many kids from poorer backgrounds have
also done the same, but they weren't in my peer group. Aristocrats and elite
political families send their kids to do military service. Sounds like middle
class +1 standard deviation nonsense attitude was prevalent there

~~~
riot504
Exactly this! I joined the military at 17 and turned 18 during the summer I
graduated high school. I am now completing my PhD in mathematics and work as a
data scientist for a small economic development firm.

------
nostromo
Edit: you can disregard this comment now as the article and title are updated
to the (much better) originals.

It's a good story, but the title is fairly misleading. It sounds like he did
"mess up" a few times. But ultimately he persevered thanks to a tenacious
teacher. It seems the real message is to keep pushing forward, even if you
stumble.

Clicking through to the original Medium article suggests that Vox is
responsible for the title since the original is much better.

~~~
lavrov
I think that this depends on the definition of "messing up" \- he missed a
financial aid window in 6th grade, and something as trivial as filing a form
late had a tangible impact on a year of his life. I think that his point is
that this experience conditioned him to view risk quite differently from
wealthier peers. I would disagree that "pushing forward" is a valid
prescription - the counterfactual "without Mrs. Harris and Head-Royce" leaves
him on a different trajectory.

------
brianlweiner
While it's clearly true that more privileged kids have opportunities to
recover from mistakes, there is also a worrying trend where even those kids
seem to think they can't possibly make a mistake (get a C, do poorly on a
standardized test)

[http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/12/the-
sili...](http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/12/the-silicon-
valley-suicides/413140/)

------
AdamFernandez
I can attest this problem is insidious and pervasive through-out society. Not
just in the U.S., but globally. Separate from the moral issue of children
growing up in disadvantaged environments, this is an economic problem, and a
problem for the advancement of humanity. There is so much hidden value in
masses of people that have no way deliver this value due to circumstances. I
know anecdotally, you can point to individuals who made it despite these
setbacks, but this is not the norm statistically by far.

What would happen if we found a way to lift these people up?

How much better off would everyone be economically by the value these hidden
'diamonds' create? (and by everyone I mean even the wealthy)

How much faster could humanity be advancing in general?

From a practical and factual perspective, ignoring this, or just waving it off
as 'the best rise no matter what', is so damaging and counterproductive that
it is actually holding back everything.

------
jimmywanger
This is precisely the reason why affirmative action/outreach efforts should be
based on socioeconomic status, not race or gender.

This vietnamese guy has hard a much harder time of it than any black, middle
class, female growing up in a nice middle class suburb, but _he 's_ the one
who's discriminated against during college admission and job interviews, and
applications for scholarships and coding academies and such.

~~~
Kenji
I couldn't agree more. That's how it is where I live and there aren't many
brilliant people who are barred from getting good education because of
financial problems.

------
hosh
This is an interesting article to read and think alongside:

[http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160928-how-anxiety-
warps-y...](http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160928-how-anxiety-warps-your-
perception)
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12603748](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12603748)

The poignant comment for me: "You don’t take it for granted because you
understand you’re playing by someone else’s rules. Even today, Ricky and I
often feel like that. Given the long odds we beat to get here, sometimes in
our heads, our world feels very fragile; at any moment, the clock could strike
midnight."

Very much like an underlying anxiety and background survival-threat.

I never went to Stanford or to an elite school. I don't feel that I grew up
excessively poor, but I was fortunate that I grew up in a household where we
didn't excessively bought All The Things. (That came later in a period in my
life when I made enough to indulge in consumer goods for a few years).

What I'm most grateful for was a period in my life where I was working deep
with meditation and shamanic practices to address very intense emotions --
including that feeling of "our world fees very fragile". I don't know where
that came from, and yet it would pop in from time to time. There is also a
path out of that where the world opens up and you realize this inner freedom
-- to play, to laugh, to love, going beyond simply surviving from one day to
the next.

------
vlunkr
It's also evident in this story that another challenge that faces many poor
kids is a simple lack of knowledge about what career and education options are
available to them. I applied for college on time because my mom made sure I
did. It wasn't high on my priority list.

------
lesolorzanova
What if on top of that you were not born in the U.S?

I feel like this all the time. I was born in Colombia. I managed to get
scholarships for all my education from school to PhD and managed to study
abroad. But it was not easy. I still feel like I am not good enough, I even
feel I am getting old to learn new things. I feel undeserving which can not be
good for starting the PhD studies.

The universities where I studied in Colombia are just as good as any
university in the U.S or Europe and proof of this is that I managed to get a
masters in CS in France and will start my PhD in Sweden (sometime now since
there's an immigrant crisis). But as people from the "3rd world" we are often
overlooked and underestimated.

I felt very touched by this article and gave me hopes for my future and only
makes me want to be younger to take evn better decisions in life.

------
NotSammyHagar
This article made me cry. I feel for those folks who are so poor (the parents
in this article, and the kids), everyone should have a decent life, a chance
to earn enough money to get an education, or have access to eduction. This
kind of thing is an enormous loss of potential for humanity, for these folks
that can't get access to education. It's for people like that that we should
look into making college much less expensive if not free.

I am from a poorer, less developed southern state. I went to a high school
with a lot of poor people. I was lucky enough to go to college, my parents had
both been so I had an enormously easier time than most folks, including money
to pay for it plus an expectation that I would go. Whenever I have gone back
to high school reunions, I feel so sorry for those people that were never able
to go to college, or develop their potential.

------
sfrailsdev
We need to stop finding lost diamonds and start giving poor people in general
more opportunities. People talk about rising tides lifting all boats, but ties
flow in at the bottom and lifts things higher.

------
kalendae
This american's life's episode "Three Miles"
([http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-
archives/episode/550/t...](http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-
archives/episode/550/three-miles)) won the reporter her Peabody award and is
one of the most touching and haunting stories on pretty much the same topic.

------
lordnacho
Wow, this story resonated with me. I also have parents who were Chinese
minority in north Vietnam. And my dad in fact had 16 siblings as well. And
some of those siblings now live in Oakland.

Anyway, I recall growing up there was an incident that almost knocked me off
course. My parents had been paying for a private school for years, and they
let me know it was very, very, expensive. Even with a discount, pretty much
everything was going to this school for me and my brother. They ran a
restaurant, so food was cheap. Not a lot of other expenses, my dad somehow
always knew a regular who could get a car or HiFi cheaply for us. I dressed
like a slob.

So I applied to go to a government school. I knew it was going to be a culture
shock, not only because they tended to speak the local language instead of
English, but if it was so burdensome on the family, perhaps it was worth it. I
had a friend who wanted to do that and actually did.

I mentioned it to a classmate of mine, and he told me not to. The best part of
the school was high school, and we'd both be better off for university by
staying there. A number of kids has gone to top universities from there. His
family weren't rich either, also on a massive discount. So I mulled it over
and stayed. My parents were supportive.

High school turned out to be worthwhile, despite some weird international
school issues. I got into competitive maths, skipped a year in it, and
generally did quite well socially. Got good marks, and went on to a top uni in
the UK.

Which was also a bit of a culture shock. The mentioned buddy came for a visit
and he told me he saw people walking around in top hats. There was definitely
a lot of privilege around. One buddy invited me to his house, down the street
from where Shakespeare grew up. This was a second home, his parents mostly
lived in Italy, curating art. Guess how little I could speak about that.

Events seemed to cost a fortune, but it wasn't really the money that was
weird, it was knowing how to dress. Some people seem to be born with the
knowledge of what black tie means. And how to behave while wearing it. There
were all sorts of conventions and special lingo that in retrospect seem
trivial, but as a young kid you don't want to stray too far from the norm.

Anyway, one does survive such traumas. There are always people around who are
very interested in your story, and understanding that people come from
different backgrounds. It's not like the toffs actually hate you, a lot of
them are quite curious.

------
M_Grey
Extend this to doing something stupid and illegal as a white kid, or a black
kid.

------
kfe
Having gone to a school with an extremely high barrier of entry (in the terms
of admission tests not financially) I would say that bright & motivated
companionship was what pushed me forward. Pooling talent helps to develop it
in many ways.

At the same time some of the best/most braised education systems come from
countries with a "level playing field" public school systems such as Finland.

To me the main question is if developing talent by pooling it together is in
conflict with achieving high average student development. And if so, which one
of those should be the goal as a society?

------
asdf333
I've read countless articles like this one but for some reason, this is the
first one where I felt like I personally connected with the story.

------
KevinEldon
I benifitted from systems hat supported school choice. I hope uS governments
(local, state, and federal) support the same. Active and interested parents
with active and interested teacher with options to align students with the
best educational solutions can only be good for students.

------
psyc
Wow. Seldom has an article hit so close to home.

I grew up American-poor (household income < $10k in 1980s). I've felt this
almost every day of my life. From my point of view I've had to work so much
harder for results that are very mediocre relative to the stereotypical HN
crowd. I've never had any sense of security. Always felt like the other shoe
was about to drop.

I had to work any job I could find as a kid to buy near-obsolete computers to
hack on. That was probably good for me.

We tell ourselves that smart kids get scholarships, but that's a half-truth.
Some do, some don't. I was valedictorian, had a 4.0 GPA, 99th percentile on
every academic test, and applied for scholarships. I got a half-ride to a
decent state school. I had to work 30 hrs/wk at a stressful job to make up the
rest and pay for used books. A major auto accident was enough, financially and
psychologically, for me to drop out. None of that was good for me, and I've
occasionally regretted not being able to pursue academics further.

My parents never had any money, and never taught me anything about money
beyond "don't spend any". I taught myself as much as I could about finance,
but I've found that there are money traps absolutely everywhere. Corporations
are very eager to take your money for nothing if you're less than extremely
vigilant. Sub-optimal mobile plans, auto-renew subscriptions, lack of health
insurance, bank fees, gotchas in employment contracts... such things are
ultimately in your power to some degree, but it's a constant hostility against
you, and if you're not battling, you're potentially losing tens of thousands,
often for literally nothing in return.

I was homeless a lot as a young adult. I still don't have an especially stable
living situation.

I've had a great career, and I'm a somewhat sought-after "senior" developer.
That in itself is an opportunity. Where I come from, $50k/yr is called "good
money", and people know how to live like princes on that. The figures tossed
about in any discussion of developer comp would make my childhood friends kill
themselves (or kill me).

I once managed to save $100k in cash. I used it to try to start a business,
but it failed. I've tried to start companies 3 times. I'm trying to start one
now, with no money and a failing laptop. Of course I have the option of
getting a good job if I need to.

That's enough details. They don't matter that much. What matters to me is how
it feels. To know that it's taken me 5 times as long to get to the same place.
That the results I get have always been below what I know my potential is.
I'll never give up. It's hard to contemplate, so now I meditate it away so it
won't stop me from trying. The point is I've worked really, really hard, and
now I'm 40, and the success I hope for is still in the future.

------
dexterdog
Gladwell's entire podcast that is mentioned in the article is excellent and
well worth your time if you have not heard it already. IIRC it was 10
episodes.

------
SFJulie
Well, maybe we don't need that much talent on earth.

Real life 101: all people deserve respect even if not given by life the
opportunity to express their talent when not that many talents are needed to
make the world goes round.

------
EGreg
Invert the classroom to deliver much more value to more people. College should
be for socializing, small groups, labs and certification.

------
slzuok
> _As Gladwell points out, it’s often only possible for poor kids like me to
> reach their potential when we have a champion who can not only show us the
> way but help carry us there._

This is just how simple it is.

And the ones that get help are not the ones that need it, which leads to bad
results. VCs are not interested in funding poor people, whatever their
abilities or vision.

VCs invest in Stanford grads, where 90%+ of the students are from well off
backgrounds (look it up). Why? So if something goes wrong they can say to
their LPs "It's not my fault, they went to Stanford!"

A young Steve Jobs would have a harder time raising money today than he did in
the 70's. And he'd have a harder time than any random person who got into
Stanford - where the admissions program is easily gamed by the wealthy and
connected and the graduation rate is 95%.

The limited help available is all being directed at the ones that need and
utilize it the least.

The upside for poor people is that being poor forces ones to grow as a person.
Steve Jobs used to walk across town to eat free food at the hare krishna
temple...no wealthy person could ever imagine what deep reservoirs of drive a
thousand humbling experiences can create in a person. It's something you would
wish for your child despite the pain required.

------
clifanatic
> We as a society need to do more to not only find these lost diamonds

Ok, mr. author, what are _you_ doing? Or by "we" did you mean "everybody
else"?

------
forrestthewoods
"I couldn't mess up even once". Except he did. And yet it worked out. So
clearly the headline is an exaggeration.

~~~
dbshapco
I think it is the feeling that you can't mess up that this references and
which persists.

My past was a single mother, deadbeat dad, welfare and food banks.

Now I have a comfortable six-figure income and have been employed for over two
decades.

I still feel like I'm one bad break away from being on the streets.

~~~
tome
I'm not quite sure what you're saying. Do you mean you _feel_ like you're only
one bad break away, emotionally, but rationally you know you're not? Or do you
mean you still are actually one bad break away, for some reason?

~~~
dbshapco
Emotionally and quite illogically.

You can take the kid out of the ghetto but you can't take the ghetto out of
the man.

------
briandear
This seems to me to be a great example of why school choice is important.
Those opposed to school choice would have this kid staying in a falling school
to serve their social agenda.

I get it, we should make all schools "good schools," but while we're waiting
for that to happen, must the smart and motivated be the pawns?

~~~
harryjo
What happens when everyone chooses the same good school?

~~~
mzw_mzw
What happens when everyone wants to buy a particular car or a particular
phone?

~~~
tedunangst
You wait two weeks while they make some more.

