I think my current circumstance is a combination of hard work, good choices, and luck. DIsentangling them is not so easy. All are contributing factors. As to your former points, I do believe that whiteness and my middle class upbringing have helped me, and I think that the data are not very useful. These aren't contradictory points. Were I not middle class, for example, I may not have had a support network while I took a couple extra years to get on the right path for me. I'll certainly admit that I shared the article without fully digesting it, because I thought it was interesting, and I thought it would be a conversation starter (obviously it was, since we're still talking about it). After your critique, I went back and took a closer look, and it seemed obvious to me that they were comparing data sets in which two variables had been manipulated--an automatic DQ in that type of analysis. Perhaps the source material did a better job (I assume so, because no journal would publish such quality data), but I didn't go back and read it. Sure, but to what extent? That's the point. There are certainly many contributing factors, and without knowing them in quantitative terms speculation is all we're left with. In the end, we're arguing about the small space between, because we're in complete agreement that education is the most important thing. No matter how shitty I was as a kid, I'd be nowhere without an advanced degree. Why do you believe it was "white privilege" and not your doctorate that enabled you to become an art collector?
I think we can speculate that poor dropouts have bad outcomes, and rich graduates have good outcomes, without stretching credulity...