Redefine affirmative action to be based on socioeconomic status as opposed to race

The purpose of affirmative action is to grant the underprivileged opportunities their social condition has deprived them of. This is clearly a socioeconomic matter, and not a race matter. Giving opportunities based on wealth (or more specifically, lack thereof), would be the most efficient and effective allocation of resources. For example, mandating state universities and encouraging private universities to give special consideration to those in reduced circumstances could have a potentially dramatic role in putting an end to the cycle of poverty America suffers from. If the United States truly wishes to stand by the principle of social mobility upon which she was founded, such measures must be put in place.