Forgive me if I tell a little story here, related to the thread.
I grew up poor. My parents had no money management skills, and my dad was an on again, off again alcoholic, with inner ear problems which prevented him from playing his trade as a high rise construction worker. He got a job at the local mill not long after I was born. We never had much, often eating a lot of rice and beans, but we did eat, even if my mother had to miss a few meals to be sure the two kids and dad were fed.
I worked nothing jobs for a couple years after high school, often walking to work when my less than totally reliable car(which I paid $400 for) would go tits up. Walking three miles in the CA summer, mind you, which in my area averaged a balmy 100-110 degrees July-August and into Sept. When I turned 21, I stopped blowing my small paychecks on booze and women. I got an apartment with a roommate. I worked crappy jobs I hated(no college degree), often three at a time. By the age of 28, I had paid in cash for a 1700 square foot home in Oregon. Then I fell down my stairs moving in, and cracked my tailbone. I was unable to walk or sit in an upright position for most of 6 months. My savings went away.
I could have given up, sold the house and gone on permanent disability. Instead, I forced myself to get well, I got a job, and I am still paying off medical bills. Meanwhile....
My wife and I have built a performing arts studio centered around her belly dance skills, and my fire performing talent. We just moved it into a 1200 sq ft retail space in downtown.
Along the way, we've had the usual trials and tribulations. Everything we have used has been self taught, or gained through self enrichment classes through parks and rec departments.
Don't tell me there's no way out of poverty. It's BS. As someone else said, everyone has a tool kit. I do agree that culture is key. Culture is what is killing young black men, and an increasing number of young white men. It's a learned belief in helplessness.
