> If there are sufficient candidates in the well-off rubric why should we as a society artificially push anyone else into the arena?

1. You get better prepared people. Any society based on nepotism is doomed to fail.

2. You get different views on how to solve problems. People with different background have different experiences that give a wider view of the world.

3. It is fair. Injustice is a bad way of running a society.

> At least the well-off folks won't have their lives ruined if they fail to get tenure.

Everybody in a society has a right to a good life. That someone does not get a tenure does not mean that their life has ended, there are many possibilities in life and governments have to provide safety nets to help people to get back on their feet.