This is ignoring the fact that most people commenting here already won big time in the lottery of life: the family you were born into.
If you were born in a family in the wealthiest 10% of the world you have a lot of advantage over the person born in the least wealthy 10%. It's a lot more profound than that you got a game console for X-mas every other year.
For instance, does drowning while crossing the Mediterranean sea on a substandard boat not constitute a willingness to do whatever is necessary to improve one's station in life in your view?
Yes-- and beyond that, to be in the top 10% as of 2019, you needed a HOUSEHOLD income of $154,589. I'll bet many, if not most of the people on HN make or beat that with one household salary. I imagine that it's gotta be close to 200k by now, but a household with the income of a public school teacher and a construction laborer would undoubtedly get you into the top 25%.
Yeah, well, my family was lower middle class. The same for many wealthy people I know.
I noted also that my comments were referring to America, which is (still) a free market country that provides a great deal of opportunity. That's why millions of poor people try to get here.
If you were born in a family in the wealthiest 10% of the world you have a lot of advantage over the person born in the least wealthy 10%. It's a lot more profound than that you got a game console for X-mas every other year.
For instance, does drowning while crossing the Mediterranean sea on a substandard boat not constitute a willingness to do whatever is necessary to improve one's station in life in your view?