After reading Brewer's and Ha's last post, I realize that I don't think of 'poor' and 'poverty' as necessarily being the same thing as not having a lot of money. It is for this reason that I get the feeling that many who are poor are poor and stuck, their real impoverishment is lack of choices, or at least lack of the knowledge of how to have choice.
My parents both grew up as immigrants on farms with very little money. I suspect that there were days that they ate better than others. Yet they were never stuck because their parents brought values with them from the old country that served them well. Within a generation, every one of my grandparents were doing pretty well for themselves.
Similarly, my oldest son (26) is undoubtedly below the poverty level. He has a university degree, and chooses to live the way he does. Last winter he spent in a wall tent in the Yukon in temperatures down to -40. He can do something else whenever he wants. He is making choices. He doesn't get public assistance, nor does he want it. He doesn't ask for much from me other than my time sometimes which is certainly my pleasure.
Yet I have known and seen people who are mired in the 'culture of poverty.' I doubt that they will ever get out of it. I seriously doubt that giving them food or money wouldl make much difference, whether given by individuals or by the government. Their houses, or trailers, have Wiis and big-screen TVs, and not a book in sight (this would describe some of my in-laws). They may or may not be below the official poverty line, yet by my definition and values they are impoverished.
Yet in the rural Alaskan town where I have spent many years, I have seen programs like Head Start make a tremendous difference in the lives of children, despite their parents. So I do feel that the government should have some role in helping people break the cycle of poverty. I also share a fair amount of mistrust of the government. But it irks me that there is always money to bomb brown people and bring "democracy" to people who don't want it but whenever discussion turns to helping those at home, there is always stiff resistance.
Or maybe I'm just a judgmental old fart.
I am finding this discussion quite interesting, and despite my occasionally strongly-stated opinion, I too hope nobody gets bent out of shape over it.