As I've said before, if I can manage to be doing OK by my age, anyone can manage it. I grew up in a poor farm family...what would be called a share-cropper since my parents didn't own the farm. I was driving tractor when I was 10, and driving to town for parts by the time I was 12. I married, divorced, and went back to college with 3 kids. My first job out of college was for minimum wage, a quarter an hour less than I made cleaning at the animal shelter on weekends.
Now we have about 10 acres, a nice house, a good income, a retirement fund. It took 30 years, but that's about the right timing. And I did overcome some fairly major disasters during those years, but kept going. I didn't drink or smoke, or use drugs. I paid bills first and pinched every penny. I learned to fix my house, fix my cars, and do what was needed to get ahead.
Every single person I know that has gone nowhere in life has made the choices to end that way. They used drugs or drank all their money. They got an education but never used it, remaining in the comfortable life the government provided. They even ate their way onto disability. I don't know anyone that completely failed at life without choosing to do so. (Not to say they don't exist, but they are few and far between.) The flat fact, both from Ben Stein's view and from the view of working past it all...most poor people earn their poverty.
