Wait, what about those who stay in crap jobs without attending college or university? Aren’t they stuck in an unfair system doing work they hate for little money? Well, sure, if they’re terrible at it. If not, then they will find themselves enjoying one of the best benefits of capitalism. If you’re good at your job (and helping the company make money), you will move up in the organization. Wal-Mart’s CEO started his career working in one of the company’s distribution centers. Jack Welch started his career at GE as a junior engineer, and ended it as CEO. John Lasseter was fired as a Disney animator, only to return to the studio 22 years later as chief creative officer at Pixar, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and DisneyToon Studios. In other words, the boss.

These are extreme examples, but all across this country, there are untold stories of smaller-scale accomplishment. I know a few myself, since I still shop at Wal-Mart and Toys ‘R Us, and have been known to sneak into Arby’s or McDonald’s for lunch. The mother of three working to supplement her family’s income I worked with in the toy department at Wal-Mart is now an associate manager at our local store. The college student I used to spend long hours with re-stocking shelves diminished by the Christmas rush at Toys ‘R Us is now that store’s manager. In the years since I’ve worked at Arby’s, I’ve seen the grill manager promoted to the store manager. It may sound like a cliché, but sometimes, hard work and perseverance do actually pay off.