What I mean (and tried to put into context with my last paragraph) is that for someone below poverty, luck is the most important factor. Moral factors like work

What I mean (and tried to put into context with my last paragraph) is that for someone below poverty, luck is the most important factor. Moral factors like work ethic don't matter. I've known lots of people with incredible work ethic for whom that quality has not helped. They're still working hard at their retail jobs (or laid off from their hard labor ones) 20 years later. Some work ethic is required, no doubt, but it's much less than most people out of poverty believe. In contrast, if one is well-connected and wealthy to begin with, luck and work ethic aren't important at all. Even being financially irresponsible doesn't have much effect in that case, in my experience.