I should have noted that my examples above are urban poor. I also grew up in rural poor, hills of WV. Our church is doing a big outreach program there now, truckloads of food and supplies. I grew up with a lot of cousins, some of which were on welfare, always had the name brand clothes, went to every nascar race, the first in the area to get video games, etc. Now a couple of them are grown up as well, always in poverty but with 25 cars in their yard.
Life is about choices, if your in the inner city and can't find a job there, then get on the bus and ride to where there is a job, yea your going to have to get up early and get home late, you have to make the choice to sacrifice.
Same as rural, I had to make the choice to leave, would love to live there now but there are no jobs so I live in the city. I had to take out loans, get up early and go to school, get out of school and go to my job, get home late and get a couple hours of sleep and do it again the next day. I planned to drive home every couple weekends but had to work extra and maybe only made it once every couple months. I lived off $.19/loaf bread, $.69/dozen eggs and a $.99 gallon of orange juice, had to teach myself how to cook and eggs and toast were simple enough so I made myself that for breakfast everyday for 4 years. I bagged groceries, pushed shopping carts, cleaned bathrooms, was looked down on by mercedes owning people and cussed at by bmw owning snobs, had smoke blown at me by volvo driving jerks. I'd get paid every friday, top off my gas tank, buy my one bag of groceries for the week and store the rest for my 1/3 of the rent and utilities for the two bedroom apartment three of us in the school rented in the ghetto (we couldn't afford the school housing. I had to make sacrifices, make the choice to live like that. Again, I'd love to be back on the farm in WV but I make the choice to not live in poverty, sometimes thats what people have to do.
I was out on the edge of the parking lot of the big grocery store one day picking up trash when standing by the entrance was a man holding a sign that said "will work for food". I said "dude look" and pointed at the big sign on the front of the grocery store that said "now hiring, immediate start". He folded up his sign and walked away.
Thats how I know that the majority of people who live in poverty do so by choice.

now I should add that I'm not down on everyone, I've helped people out in the past, if people truly had a hard time I have no problem helping them out, if they are some who chooses and tries to help themselves. We've given away computers, we've fixed computers, we've made and printed resumes, we've helped people with broken down cars, we've offered people to stay in our home, given people food, etc.