Do you think people choose to be poor?

Answer 1

No a baby is born to a poor family tall me what age does the kid have a chance to overcome it?
5, 10 or 21 when the kid is now one of the millions of working poor.

Answer 2

Yes and no. There are people who do everything the can to make a better life for themselves but often that takes money to go to college (and don't tell me financial aid will always take care of that. I live by myself, rent an apartment, and work in retail yet I'm not eligible for grants) or a lucky break at work for a promotion (which was how my mom was able to help get her and dad out of the poorhouse). Even if they do manage to graduate from college, there's the painstaking task of finding someone that will hire them (I'm in college for the second time because no one would let me use my first degree). Getting out of the poorhouse is harder than you think. It was years before my parents were in a position to be able to afford more than just basics for the family. But if one is determined enough they'll find a way to get to where they can live comfortably.
Granted there are some who are in the poorhouse because they expect some kind of handout. An old high school friend of mine who had two daughters (by two different dads) is living off welfare because she doesn't want to work. In fact some of my other friends can't remember the last time she had a job.
So to answer your question, it all depends on the person.

Answer 3

As a matter of fact, I do believe that some people choose to be poor. They are the people who think about taking the easy way out. I remember reading once about this guy who was so poor he didn't have electricity in his house and had to walk a long distance to get water, so what he did was something that made him ended up in jail, because he said he couldn't handle it since he had to look after more people (his father, sister etc) so what he did was take the easy way out. Going to jail meant he gets 3 meals a day, and he had a place to stay with light, a place to sleep, running water for showers etc. In my opinion, going to jail to stay is far more poor than having a place of your own to reside in. He was selfish in taking the easy way out to help himself, why not strive for better jobs to give them a better living? Simply because some people choose to be poor. Though I'm not saying everyone who is poor thinks this way, but then again, why do you always see the same people in the streets asking for money? Why not try to clean yourself up and get a job then? Though things may be a little hard, you still have to be tolerant and have some patience before things will start to happen for you. Though some people would then say,"We were tolerant and work hard, yet don't have enough money," in this case, it's different, but your question is so general that in my opinion, you are thinking about the far destitute, i.e people who beg for money.

Answer 4

No I don't think they would choose to be poor at least the working class ones anyway the ones that do get up every morning to bust butt for their family's, the ones not on welfare, the ones that are trying but just can't seem to get ahead in life.But on the other hand the people that won't get off their lazy as*es and get a job I believe they do because they sit back and let the government take care of their kids,they get food stamps,and Medicaid while all the while the working person is busting butt to take care of their family and help pay off the lazy ones too !! It's total crap !!

Answer 5

No, they don't. Often, though, they can choose to stay poor.

I got off to a rough start. It took me 10 years from the time I graduated from high school to get into a career where I could make a living. The last 10 years have been really good and we are starting to live quite comfortably now. For 10 years, though, my wife and I and our two small children were as poor as they come. We kept fighting and fighting to succeed, though, and eventually we did. You can give up and give in and just decide to be poor, or have bad spending habits, or too much debt, or any number of other things, though.

Answer 6

People no more choose to be poor than they choose to be rich. Most "rich" people think they are rich because they have worked hard, but your financial status is largely a function of 'dumb luck' more than any other factor. Think about it, don't you know someone who is smart, works their tail off, does everything right, and still isn't making it? Then you know someone else who is a lazy, good-times worthless human being (in the scheme of things) who has more than they deserve through no real effort on their part. [I might be one of these!]

How you respond to what you have is infinitely more important, however. There are "poor people" who live happy & fulfilling lives within their means, and "rich people" who are miserable because they can never quite afford what they think they want.

Hard work will almost never make you rich, but it will make you a better person able to appreciate what you have and where it came from...

Answer 7

It depends: if a child is born into a family that is already poor, then poverty is not that person's choice. But if someone, for example, went on a cruise that cost way more than the person could afford and that person couldn't pay the rent the next month, then that is a choice. It depends on each individual circumstance, so there isn't really one right or wrong answer to this question.

Answer 8

Why don't you ask the poor? Why don't you ask people who have different experiences in poverty? Who would understand it better than those who have experienced it and have learned enough to rise up out of it?

I think people make choices which can lead to them being or staying poor. Very few people consciously choose "to be poor." Some famous exceptions are St. Francis and St. Claire.

Now think about what you are really asking. Ask yourself why you chose to ask that question.

Answer 9

To some extent no. However, the US offers a lot of social mobility and people can improve themselves. We are ultimately the cumulative product of our decisions. Consider the following:

Two people are both born into a poor urban household to a single mother.

Person A: Goes to school, doesn't do drugs. Takes out student loans and goes to college. Moves to the suburbs. Gets a job, gets married (stays married) and has children.

Person B: Wants to blame society, racism, etc. for their poverty. Does drugs, doesn't go to school, gets pregnant at 15 and goes on welfare.

Poverty is often related to culture and some cultures do not value work and preach victimization and their leaders want to keep people down rather than empower them.

Answer 10

Who would honestly make the choice to be poor conscientiously? I think some people make choices in life that will ultimately lead them to a life of poverty and yet others don't make goals or plans to get ahead, which also leads to being poor for life. But, I think everyone wants to be comfortable and wouldn't make it an outright choice to be poor.