Never gets old

Good meme, OP.

There’s this misconception that poor people are lazy or bad with money - and sometimes there are even anecdotes that make it seem true - but it’s a misconception we need to get over.

I grew up pretty damn poor, even lived in public housing for a couple years. Always had the notion in my head that I could work my way out of it, and I did.

Spends 6 years in undergrad because parents are paying for it fully, then after graduating gets their first job ever working at daddy's company

It’s so funny how you have to show and prove and back bend to people who had a leg up. It does not make you or me less than! Get a hold of yourself. It is OK that we had an advantage. Nobody is taking away your job or $.

I love how all the privileged people complain about having privilege but don’t actually do anything to help out those who don’t have it.

The problem with a service economy is that there is an intellectual divide. High IQ people are able to command high salaries. They are able to navigate the complicated corporate world, and invest their resources wisely, take advantage of comping interest, and their wealth accelerates. Meanwhile, there is a subset of the population that can’t work any harder and ‘break in’ to this world, their jobs don’t keep up with inflation, they’re left further and further behind. This doesn’t mean that poor people are low IQ. It means systemically, there is a segment of the population that will never succeed in a modern society and there is no option. These are the people that SHOULD and NEED a government safety net. No amount of scrappiness will make them ‘successful’ in today’s economy.

IQ indicates not ‘raw’ intelligence, and education can influence IQ (ie, rich folks in a strong education system have an advantage or people with parents obsessed with their kids future are at an advantage). But, there is a limitation of the influence of ‘nurture’...there will always be a segment of the population that will be stuck in a poverty cycle in a service economy

Literally thousands of globally successful companies were started by people who can from no wealth. Yes it’s definitely easier if you already have a ton of money, but literally hard work and determination gets you where you want to go. There’s this weird culture of “don’t work hard” on this app

Working hard by itself won’t get you much. You need to work hard AND smart. Working 3 part time jobs at some fast food place is not working smart IMO

The tipping thread is so reminiscent of this

My mom once told me if you’re:
smart + rich = you have it made
dumb + rich = you’ll do fine
smart + poor = you’ll figure out a way to get what the rich have
dumb + poor = you’re in trouble

American society values wealth to an unhealthy degree. I am Asian American and grew up on an island. Asian and island cultures place an emphasis on family group and social welfare. It’s not a perfect solution, but does mitigate the excesses of the capitalist mindset.

What do you recommend instead?

Hard work ≠ success.

Hard work + luck = some chance of success.

Hard work *that’s done smartly* = likely success.

Says the managing director....

As a child of poor people, this was 100% true for me