It's somewhere in the middle

There definitely has to be a middle ground. Especially in today's economic crisis, it is not uncommon to see hard working individuals struggling with the same issues as the not-so-hard workers. There are many reasons why vulnerable populations continue to remain vulnerable such as language barriers, physical or mental handicaps, legal status...etc. Although some of these issues can be addressed, many of these cannot thus causing individuals to struggle to excel in the work environment. But as a daughter of Colombian immigrants who came to this country at a very young age, I have witnessed first hand how people who really want to excel can do so. My parents came to this country neither of them college graduates, neither of them speaking english, and both of them extremely broke and teenagers. My parents many times had to chose between buying baby food to feed my sister and I or buying food to feed themselves. Needless to say, they experienced many days of hunger. Nevertheless, they continued to overcome barriers that were keeping them down. Today, my family owns a very comfortable home in San Marino, we have enough cars to keep us moving, and.... I won't say anymore or you all might think I'm bragging :) But the point is, I have personally seen how my family went from definitely being vulnerable to no longer having to struggle with the issue, all due to their perseverance and sacrifice.