People often say that in America if you work hard then you will make it. As sociologists, we know that some of the hardest working people have a very difficult time just making their ends meet every day and certainly are not "making it" in terms of success often portrayed in popular culture.

Please review this table of wealth distribution in America.

Write a short (1-page) essay, describing the table and the actual wealth distribution in America.

Describe the discrepancies between what people say that the wealth distribution looks like, what they think (their perceptions of) the wealth distribution should look like, and then what it actually is.

Please use the information from the table to either refute or support the idea that hard work pays off for all people in America (society as a meritocracy).

Be sure to take into account various types of inequalities (e.g., race, gender) in your answer.

Do not use outside sources, but apply your own sociological imagination using your own words.