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My identity project was not being poor. So I was a cashier and a filed bank teller. I delivered newspapers. I washed cars and delivered tires and packages.
by stretchwithme 11y ago
My identity project was not being poor.
So I was a cashier and a filed bank teller. I delivered newspapers. I washed cars and delivered tires and packages. I washed windows and cleaned doctors offices. Then eventually went to college and got into software development.
It baffles me when some people are surprised that its possible to work your way out of poverty. That's what most sane people do when they have the opportunity to do so.
Of course, if you have a culture that deters hard work and self development, that makes it a lot hard.
Its also harder when people say that environment determines the outcome instead of individual determination. The truth is its both, but telling people their effort is not what makes the difference is creating a environment that does not encourage the effort required to succeed. The idea that environment is everything can help ensure a bad environment prevents you from succeeding. And even the environment cannot be changed without individual effort.
- hackuser 11y agoIt's an interesting and often-repeated theory, but the data is overwhelming: People born in poor environments do much worse than those born in wealthier environments. The massive difference in resources seems like a place to start. Compare the percentage of kids who get into college from poor urban public schools, where many kids aren't even functionally literate and classes lack books, and wealthy suburban public schools. But whatever the cause, the bar is far too high in poor neighborhoods for most people to get over.
- stretchwithme 11y agoI would say that those born into poor cultures do poorly. Those cultures that are no longer poor were more conducive to escaping poverty. The evidence is compelling in places that dropped government control of everything and millions of people have moved out of poverty in just a generation or two. China is a good example. Everybody started out poor but they still had an ethic or working hard, saving for the future and education. Other people are born with the same opportunities but not the same values and don't take advantage of those opportunities. Its not the poor neighborhood. Its the poor ideas in people's heads. Change that and the neighborhood changes too.
- hackuser 11y ago> Its not the poor neighborhood. Its the poor ideas in people's heads. Change that and the neighborhood changes too. An interesting notion, but is there any data that backs it up?
- stretchwithme 11y agoYou need proof that better ideas produce better results?