Yes, I understand that -- I was just pointing out there;s a difference between those two.

There's a further distinction among people who were born poor -- do they live in a society in which people move up (+ down) the socio-economic ladder?

America is one of those places, imo. Therefore, being born poor here may or may not qualify one for help. In other words, even if you're born poor in America, it's much easier to help yourself OUT of poverty here than in other places. Therefore, you'd have to prove MORE hardship here to get a hand-up or a hand-out.

The basic question is, is the poverty coming from withIN or from withOUT.

For lack of a better word, whose FAULT is it?

If it's the person's fault, then they should dig themselves out. If it's society's fault, then society should help out.

But 'fault' is not easy to determine!

Analogy: trying to figure out whose 'fault' a heart attack is. Is it right to start charging a 'fat tax' on food that isn't heart healthy? Is it right to blame the person who eats fatty foods for a heart attack? How can you be SURE that's what caused it? People who eat healthy + jog 10 miles/day ALSO get heart attacks.

-- TW