>because in practice the poor aren't that stupid I think it would be far better defined as learned helplessness in financial matters instead of being stupid.

>because in practice the poor aren't that stupid I think it would be far better defined as learned helplessness in financial matters instead of being stupid. They can be overall smart people, but past experience has taught them views of money that are not beneficial to financial stability. They might even be able to give a lesson on good financial decision making, but on an emotional level they have trouble applying it to themselves. A much more jarring example of this is behaviors resulting from food insecurity in children. Children who come from very food insecure situations will hoard food even when they are now in a food secure environment. Often this will include hoarding food that does not keep, and any attempts to change this behavior just result in the hoarding being better hidden. From what I remember the advice of foster/adoptive parents in this situation is to provide food meant for hoarding that the child can stockpile and to let the next few years of food security slowly get the child to adjust, recognizing that some level of food hoarding might occur throughout their lifetime.