Tom, poverty is not always a personal failure... quite a few people are victims of bad luck.... some are victims of ONE mistake they made- one that drove them into poverty and they have no way to escape.

The first part of this sentence is certainly true. But if the statistics are true, people who take certain actions or behave in certain ways will be less likely to make that one mistake.

And of course, bad luck can hit anyone. "Best laid plans," and all.

I think it's the "no escape" part that makes the difference in our viewpoints.

I would bet the taxi driver you mentioned didn't stay a taxi driver forever. As far as others who ran into a bad patch and have trouble getting back on their feet, a little government help at critical points wouldn't get an objection from me. I volunteer at a church program that provides housing and meals at the church for working poor people who can't get anything else right now (they get passed from church to church). But they have to behave in certain ways (no drugs, etc.), and they have to have work.

I will grant you that maybe I don't know the same kind of poor people you do. Most of the poor around where I live are that way primarily because they just got into this country, and are trying to get on their feet. Most seem to do a damn good job of it.

But try and remember that these threads started on the subject of chronic wards of the state, people who can't or won't live any other way. Along with governments that like it that way, and set up systems that encourage dependence, and don't help people find their way out of it.

Safety nets. Not hammocks.

And an emphasis on self-respect and self-reliance.