As I said in my reply to gjm11: Adriand discussed whether "anyone can go from "rags to riches"" and declared this "myth busted" based on the fact that most peo

As I said in my reply to gjm11: Adriand discussed whether "anyone can go from "rags to riches"" and declared this "myth busted" based on the fact that most people don't. The only way the latter could imply the former is if all of them attempted to, but simply were unable to do so. That's the sole point being made in the comment you replied to. There are behaviors people can engage in to stop being poor, they simply don't. I'm not allergic to genetic explanations, but I also believe that economic policy can affect behavior. I favor economic policies that will put the poor back to work and get them to stop engaging in these destructive behaviors. (For example, I favor replacing welfare/disability fraud/etc with a Basic Job - like a basic income, but only given to people who work for it.)