The United States prides itself on being an egalitarian society, of which, if this was wholly true, then the society that America represents, would in the scheme of things, be more equal in all those things that matter such as income, wealth, opportunity, living standards, health, and one's overall quality of life. Unfortunately, statistics as well as our own eyes tells us, that America is an incredibly unequal society, of which in modern times, that inequality has not been decreasing, but rather has been increasing, all at a disturbingly high rate, so that the richest of the rich, are increasingly living lives in which they do not in the normal course of events, interrelate with any of those that are not part of their milieu, and certainly have nothing personally to do with those that are in the lower socio-economic class. This thus makes it far easier for those of that wealth, to effectively ignore and to thereby trivialize those that are the underclass of America, as well as to not feel viscerally the underclass's pain, their disappointment, and their lack of hope.
While, a huge swath of Americans, want to desperately believe that this is a merit based country, in which those that apply themselves, and are diligent, are thereby accorded the fruits of their hard work; it really isn't that way at all, because the fact of the matter is that the physical location of where a given person is birthed and thereby the overall environment of where a given person grows up, has a very meaningful impact upon the quality and the opportunities of life that will be fairly presented to that person.
That is to say, that the nuclear family within a person's domain, most definitely has a very significant impact upon that person's life; but so too, does the environment that surrounds that person, as to whether they reside in an area of the country in which public space is both freely available, as well as being safe; in addition to the need and the immense value of good schools with teachers that are of high quality, as well as the parents of the household having employment which is not only stable but of good remuneration.
In other words, those fortunate enough to grow up in a milieu, of which they are surrounded by successful people as well as having accouterments readily available for them that mesh well with that success, make for a desirable living condition, and ultimately better opportunities for them. Those, though that live in economically deprived areas, in which parents struggle to not only make the money necessary to survive, but also typically have little or no say in their wages or even the hours that they work -- and are exposed and vulnerable to the ill effects of bad health, unreliable transportation, police and state harassment, and myriad other injustices and hassles that are commonplace within their community, are not going to be able to provide much more than a place to lay one's head down at the end of the day, in which good opportunities are short, and positive role models, non-existent.
This thus means that all those that live in communities where the conditions are bleak; that, no matter their innate ability, are typically going to be subject to their light of opportunity and their career advancement being turned off at a very young age; in which, by the happenstance of their very location, they are precluded from ever being able to have a good life, vibrant liberty, or a real opportunity to fairly pursue their own happiness.