We all know poverty tends to exist in a cycle; kids are born to poor parents who grow up poor, and have poor kids who grow up poor, and have poor kids etc. Kids born into poverty generally don't have the resources alone to break out of poverty, whether they be financial opportunities, education, familial stability, communal, social etc. So most people are born into certain situations and have no control over all the factors in their life, but there are enough factors within people's control that make them capable of break the cycle poverty, not always to break themselves out of poverty, but to guarantee that their children, and their children's children will not be born into poverty and have a better economic starting point for life.
I believe simply with the correct guidance and proper knowledge, that, even with a lack of resources, people born into poverty can break the cycle. I speak from experience; my parents are first generation immigrants from Hispaniola, who came into this country with literally nothing, but eventually worked their way up to middle class. Mind you, they started from zero; they had to deal with language and cultural barriers, awful housing, underpaying jobs, lack of standardized education, and a whole host of other bullshit I don't want to get into right now, but within a matter of around 14 years they went from lower class, to middle class. And now I'm going to be the first person in my family to go to college and get a degree, which will only launch me further up the economic ladder, and provide a better starting point for my kids.
My parents only relied on making good life decisions, maintaining a stable family, and applying themselves to getting an education in order to get good jobs, and I think it was their knowledge and culture from the Caribbean that made them so successful. From my perspective, I don't see how you can end up being poor if you have the economic opportunities. So, I think it's a matter educating those in poverty and equipping them with the knowledge to break the cycle of poverty. Basic things like, not having children before marriage or being financially stable, acquiring a high school diploma, how to be responsible with your money, building credit early, avoid drugs, etc. really go along way in breaking the cycle of poverty.
This doesn't really cover those who don't have economic opportunities though, it doesn't matter well prepared you are to climb the economic ladder if you don't have an economic ladder to climb. Hence why my parents saved up enough money to apply for residency and left an entire country. I'd imagine it's much easier leaving a ghetto, or moving to the town over.
