U.S.A., Land of Limitations?

This article by Nicholas Christof takes a hard look at the promise America makes as the "land of opportunity" and whether it actually holds water.  We constantly hear that America is a country where economic mobility is accessible to all of its citizens.  In a few cases it is true that some people can rise from the rable join the upper class, but these cases are few and far between.  Not mention that hard work isn't the whole story, the environment and upbringing is also a factor.  If one does not have a stable home life then their chance of succeeding is diminished as seen with the author's example Rick Goff; his mom died when he was young and his father was no parent of the year.  Without proper parents he dropped out of school early on due to teachers giving up on him and as well as he giving up on school.  Christof also mentions the whole idea that people who are less well off then others are less likely to take risks.  People who are wealthier do not process risk or consequences of failure the same way everyone else does.