I would agree, that ideal is incorrect. A guy shoveling gravel may not make as much money as a guy driving a delivery truck. What separates the two if it isnt choices along the line?

One guy invested in himself (getting his CDL, keeping a clean driving record, etc) and the other possibly did not OR chose not to take a job driving a truck because the hours are too long, the commute too far, or anything else.

What I am saying is that there is more than just the choice to work hard on the clock. There is the choice of doing your homework when you are a kid, going to school and getting good grades, learning for yourself what right from wrong is, taking advantage of opportunities afforded you (the library is free, a television isnt). Investing in yourself instead of relying on someone else, amazing concept. If you continuously rely on someone else for your day to day, what happens when they cant do it any more?

I worked in EMS and saw homes that were trashed, it doesnt cost a dollar to put all the trash that is in the floor in a grocery bag and toss it in the dumpster of your trailer park or apartment complex, in fact it would save you money if you ever moved out. Or calling 911 for emergency birth control and demanding a ride to the hospital, medicare will pay for it.

I teach for a local college and it is frustrating to hear some of the students complain about the grades they get but they refuse to do the homework that I dont even grade for correct answers but simply if they answered all the questions or made an attempt. The answers are in the back of the workbook.

My wife is a medical student (after 10 years of working EMS) in her third year and spends her days working under a physician. She tells me of patients complaining that they cant afford multiple subsidized $4 prescriptions so they only get the pain meds and not the antibiotics that would actually cure the infection causing the pain. OR they admit to smoking yet they say the gov needs to buy the $4 meds for them on top of the rest of the subsidized medical care they get.

Do we say it is bad luck when a hiker goes out into the woods unprepared (mentally, physically, spiritually, logistically) and dies or is injured? But we look at someone who smokes a pack a day and gets cancer and say he was unlucky? Then we complain that he cant afford healthcare but his pack a day habit probably would have paid for all of his healthcare bills if he put it into a bank account instead of his ashtray.

My long overdue point is that generations are not being taught values that keep them out of poverty because it has become really easy to be impoverished with so many systems in place to help those below the poverty line. Values like do the right thing even if someone isnt looking, always have a back up plan, be prepared, be responsible for yourself, etc.