Does hard work pay off?

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Am I seriously the first No (R) vote? I guess I'm not surprised seeing as my economic views are not my reason for being there or remotely aligned, but this is a very, very obvious answer to me. We have extremely limited control over our fate and as talented as you are, it's entirely in the hands of others. Sure, you can set yourself up on occasion, but the correlation you mention Hagrid, is definitely not there. Anyone can set themselves up regardless of merit, and I wouldn't necessarily consider that hard work.

Note, this is a different answer than I gave to a similar question from DC Al if the "system" is working for those allowed into it (I believe it mostly is). Most will see at least modest success and comfort, but I'd imagine once you segment it into things like education, the intragroup correlation is even less.