U.S.A. Land of Limitations? By Nicholas Kristof

In Kristof's article he states that where you start off is where you end up. This may sound false as America is usually seen as the place for opportunity, but sadly only few people live the american dream. “The chance of a person who was born to a family in the bottom 10 percent of the income distribution rising to the top 10 percent as an adult is about the same as the chance that a dad who is 5 feet 6 inches tall having a son who grows up to be over 6 feet 1 inch tall,” Krueger observed in a speech. “It happens, but not often.” (Kristof) Starting in the lower class usually means you stay in the lower class, but it's saying there is always a chance of moving up to a higher class but it's not likely. That's why it compares it to a father being 5ft 6in tall, having a son being 6ft 1in tall. It's possible but not likely. 

The next point Kristof brings up was about a man named Rick. “Rick Goff was smart, talented and hard working, but he faced an uphill struggle from birth; I wrote about him last year as an example of the aphorism that “talent is universal, but opportunity is not.” (Kristof) This quote to me is very important and relates to the whole article well. It's explaining how this guy Rick was very smart but came from a bad childhood. So he had all the potential to make it big, but since started off in a low class gave him a lack of opportunity.

This last point by Kristof explains how you need a good environment to be successful. “Some think success is all about “choices” and “personal responsibility.” Yes, those are real, but it’s so much more complicated than that.” (Kristof) This quote is saying that a persons choices is what leads to success. But it's got a lot more to it to reach a more successful life. Like I said with the environment, the better a child is raised is going to help them more than a child who has very little parental influence. 

I would personally like to say my opinion on this article. I agree with this article because what a person starts with, is what they will end with. A person who is raised in an upper class family and is raised well and is taught good life values, that person is going to have good opportunity to have a good life. But a person who is born into a lower class family and has little to no parental guidance is not going to have the same opportunities as an upper class person.