Rich means Longevity

The theory explained in the article "Life at the Top in America…" had never completely occurred to me before. Richer people of society, like Mr. Miele, are at a greater advantage in the world of medical attention, than those of Ewa Gora of lower class status. Although Miele and Gora both had the same medical problem, they received completely different treatment; which resulted in vastly different permanent health problems. Because Miele had several connections at better hospitals, he was given much better treatment, because it was available to him. Whereas Gora, after neglecting care because she was afraid of the costs, did not even have a choice in which hospital she wanted to go. Gora was sent to the
So let’s say Miele represents one part of society (rich) and Gora another (poor). One group of society was able to maximize the resources at hand better; therefore they were able given the advantage of better health. This sounds a lot like Marx’s conflict theory. Resources are made more available to those of the upper class. Similarly in the example of education, because wealthier families spend much more money on their children’s school preparation when compared with their poorer counterparts, children from lower income families whose knowledge and skills are far behind those of their classmates from wealthier families enter school at a disadvantage. The same can be said about medical attention. Because wealthier people are able to spend money on surgeries and medications, their conditions are better. Compared to poorer people who can’t take time off of work when they are injured or ill, so that only makes their medical condition worse, with faint hope of improvement. I think this is a sad aspect to the stratification of society. I think it’s different when speaking about how, “wealthy are at an advantage because they can afford to go to college”, versus “wealthy people are at an advantage because they can afford their heart medication.” This is something that I hope really changes. Because it’s true that everyone has the right to go further an education or get that great job, but at some point we have to look at the basics: everyone has the right to live a long and healthy life regardless of their social status.