What do the terms "rational" and "irrational" mean? Rational means sane or intelligent. Irrational is just the opposite. Some poor people do behave irrational as well as some rich people. People of lower economic class remain poor, not because of irrational choices, but many times because of limited choices and limited opportunities.
Being from a wealthy family opens many doors as fancy red carpets unroll at your feet. In Ordinary Resurrections (p. 102) Kozol talks about some advantages he had over Eleanor Jackson and her daughter as far as getting into a good college. " Eleanor's assumption that I'd had advantages unknown to her or her daughter was well-justified...The dean, who was my father's friend and classmate, talked me into Harvard and assured me I didn't need to bother filing other applications." People can push and push to get into a college and still come up empty handed because they aren't expected to succeed in that manner. …
