It seems to be the norm now, to give your doctor some extra thank-you money (I didn’t because I simply thought it was a ridiculous idea). Some call it a gesture of appreciation, but I think it is a form of bribery. Then, when your child enters a prestigious school, you are expected to pay a six- or seven-figure donation to make sure your child gets in. Everybody knows this and seems to tolerate such bribery, accepting it as the norm. Some are even pleased about this system because they can be assured that their kids will only have friends from “good families”, which basically means rich and well-connected ones.