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Arthur Hart
Professor Rebecca Agosta
UWRT 1102-016
30 October 2014
Why is it so hard for people to break free from an identity that they
have been born with or have developed over time?
"Jenn's Words: "Living in Poverty Is like Being Punched in the Face over
and over and over on a Daily Basis. "" Poor as Folk. 19 Feb. 2014. Web. 30
poverty-is-like-being-punched-in-the-face-over-and-over-and-over-on-adaily-basis/>.
Jenn describes the deeper meaning of what its like to be living in poverty
with a family of four. Unable to live comfortably with her family she talks
about the anger and injustice she feels on a daily basis. Jenn confronts her
identity of being a poor person but not only that, she also discusses the
impossibility for her to break free of that identity. Her husband works three
jobs and sometimes doesnt come home for 30 hours a stretch. No one who
works that much should be in poverty.

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Why are most people born in bad places drawn to bad choices instead of
good ones?

O'Brian, Matt. "Poor Kids Who Do Everything Right Dont Do Better than Rich
Kids Who Do Everything Wrong." Washington Post. The Washington Post,
18 Oct. 2014. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/10/18/poorkids-who-do-everything-right-dont-do-better-than-rich-kids-who-doeverything-wrong/>.

Specifically, rich high school dropouts remain in the top about as much as
poor college grads stay stuck in the bottom 14 versus 16 percent,
respectively. Not only that, but these low-income strivers are just as likely to
end up in the bottom as these wealthy ne'er-do-wells. Some meritocracy.
(OBrian, 2014) Why work hard when you are going to end up on the
bottom broke and worthless just like before. People will only strive for
success if they actually believe they can be successful. OBrian talks about
opportunity hoarding which is when a child of wealth just inherits the family

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money or business. This being said, it means that wealthy kids can be less
qualified and twice as inexperienced and still be better off than a kid who
grew up poor.

What does it take to escape poverty?

DOKOUPIL, TONY. "What Does It Take to Escape Poverty? Ask Karvel
Anderson, American Success Story in the Making - NBC News." NBC
News. NBC, 2 Apr. 2014. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/in-plain-sight/what-does-it-take-escapepoverty-ask-karvel-anderson-american-v21631039>.

Karvel Anderson a 22 year old point guard from a hard town in Indiana that
had struggled massively due to the recession. His mother was in jail and his
father was gone, he jumped from house to house just for a place to sleep.
Now hes pro bound and a 4.0 student looking to graduate with honors.
How did Karvel get to this point in his life from such a low moment? Gritty
stubbornness he said, if you try hard enough you will get it.

Ferdman, Roberto. "One in Four Americans Think Poor People Dont Work
Hard Enough." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2014. Web. 1

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Nov. 2014.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/10/09/one-infour-americans-think-poor-people-dont-work-hard-enough/>

Another possibility is that many Americans hold the opinion because it

jibes with notion that the United States is still a land of
opportunity. Americans, after all, aren't as quick to blame their government
for the gap as people are elsewhere. Only 24 percent of the country believes
economic policies are the most important reason for inequality, which is
well below the median among all advanced economies Pew polled (32
percent), the median globally (29 percent), and Greece and Spain, where of
roughly half of the population says inequality is the government's fault.
(Frerdman, 2014) If the people fail to recognize the faults in the government
then they are just going to blame poor people for being poor. The stigma of
being lazy and poor just causes a pit that the poor cannot climb out of.

Why do most people who are poor make choices that will not help them
succeed?

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Thompson, Derek. "Your Brain on Poverty: Why Poor People Seem to

Make Bad Decisions." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 22 Nov.
2013. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/11/your-brain-onpoverty-why-poor-people-seem-to-make-bad-decisions/281780/>.

I make a lot of poor financial decisions. None of them matter, in the long
term. I will never not be poor, so what does it matter if I dont pay a thing
and a half this week instead of just one thing? (Golis, 2013) It sounds like
backwards thinking but it makes sense. If you have never had money and
you dont see yourself ever making a decent amount of money you
automatically think that you have nothing to lose. The better your life is the
better choices you tend to make so you can keep that way of living. When
things seem to have no hope you just stay there.