In countries with a very low GNP, the economic system often cannot finance the cost of mass education; where GNP is higher, inadequate education is often not a question of economic capacity but rather of the priority given to the allocation of resources for education, and whether policies in force favour educating the masses or concentrating resources in educating the elite. An education system unable to provide the entire school-age population with a primary education, but one which provides a minority sector with educational opportunities up to a considerable age and up to high levels, is usually the result of the way in which the structure of education is influenced by middle-income groups. Within the already established state educational systems of developed countries, such as the USA, problems exist which affect and often limit the educational opportunities of the poor, of minorities, of residents who do not speak the national language, and of physically and mentally handicapped children.