I think that poverty is a situation you are born into, just like any other financial class. It is definitely possible to move between classes, but it is harder than most people think. The reason that stories about poor people coming into money or rich people loosing it all are so popular is that it isn't very common. When I look back at my parents' childhood, I see a story of success. Both of their families had a lot of kids and not much money, but now everybody is doing pretty well. I am proud of this aspect of my family, and it gives me hope for the future. But I don't look forward to a future where I have bucketfuls of money and a private jet. I will spare you of my nasty stereotype of super rich people. I am more scared of becoming poor than ambitious to be rich. I would be content being in this same financial situation forever.
I believe that this way of thinking is what is keeping so many people in poverty. In All Souls, the author remembers how they looked at the black people in Roxbury and would do anything to not look as poor as them. As long as someone was worse off, it didn't matter how poor they were. They scoffed at the middle class liberals and marveled at their rich cousins and their strange habits. The people of Old Colony belonged there. Why venture into a strange place when you know and love the community of your current home?
