Wealth Inequality in America

[Pemalite]

Mr Puggsly said:

Jay520 said:
Why do you think the poor choose not to escape poverty? Lack of education? Low cognitive capacity? What do you think? I am interested.

I presume the biggest issue is lack of motivation. Perhaps many poor people are content with the little money they make or their government handouts. The fact is even poor people in America live pretty well compared to most people in the world.

I'm not sure what the solution is, but I'm certain most people living in poverty can pull themselves out.

It's not as simple as that.
I have seen people here with excellent skills and qualifications, have a couple of jobs and are still poor, why? Because the amount of high paying jobs is at a relative low, those qualifications do squat if you can't get a job in a particular field. (Something that is occuring more and more across the planet.)

Personally, I would have been classed as poor a few years ago earning only 30k a year, but even with such an income I was still far better off than some of my peers who were bogged down with debt despite earning twice as much.

Years ago, I could jump from job to job whilst studying and not think twice about it, these days it's tough to find a decent paying job, hence why I'm staying where I am. :P

So no, not everyone can pull themselves out of poverty, some can, but they are a relative minority... It doesn't help that the USA's minimum wage is pathetically low compared to my own country Australia, $17 vs $7 is a pretty big bloody difference and you get health care on top of it.