Michael Lewis and the parable of the lucky man taking the extra cookie (2017)
I agree with the belief that &quot;to whom much is given, much is expected,&quot; but the framing of &quot;luck&quot; bothers me.<p>Sure, there are some undeserving rich people and their stories are trotted out whenever we talk about someone earning a salary in the top 5%. But what about the doctor at a premier children&#x27;s hospital who has done nothing but study and sacrifice for their first 30 years on the planet to earn a job that involves telling parents with depressing regularity that their child is going to die despite the best efforts of medical science? Those folks can have all the cookies they want.<p>Are many high-earners the beneficiaries of unearned privilege? Absolutely. Do the majority of these &quot;lucky&quot; people also work hard and add tremendous value to society? Absolutely. We should always try to help the needy but dismissing the very real efforts of the most successful (of which I&#x27;d not count my self a member) is bad practice.