I don't think that was his point. His point wasn't "poor people are poor because they spend too much", his point was, "maybe spending too much is part of what

I don't think that was his point. His point wasn't "poor people are poor because they spend too much", his point was, "maybe spending too much is part of what keeps them poor." Obviously there's a lot of factors reducing economic mobility anyway, but poor spending choices certain don't help. The best example of this would be addiction. A lot of poor people are addicted to tobacco, alcohol, illegal drugs, etc. This puts a huge damper on any ability to save they might have. But I'm sure he knows that sub-optimal spending decisions are just one of many reasons that poor people stay poor.