"... Horatio Alger stories are rare and stories of people trapped by their parent's poverty are all too common. According to one recent estimate, American children born to parents in the bottom fourth of the income distribution have almost a 50% chance of staying there - and almost a two-thirds chance of remaining stuck if they are black."

I have always thought that Horacio Alger stories are not only rare, they are cruel because they lead to blaming the victim.
The 'pull yourself up by your own bootstraps' crowd uses the idea to salve their own conscious for not wanting to help, but instead to seek bigger tax cuts, and feel great about the rich getting richer and the poor getting...oh the h*ll with them!

Right on, yanceducat! I agree with every word you wrote. There are those in this country, and unfortunately on here on clipmarks, who are so ignorant of poverty that it boggles the mind. "Pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps' " is all very good and well unless ya ain't got no boots.

The average poor person in America:
- owns their own house
- has more than 1 vehicle
- lives with central heat and air conditioning
- is likely to be overweight

And you get these wonderful facts from?

Yes NStuff that is quite a revelation you reveal there.It also is rather meaningless.
Their own house could be a cardboard box.
More than one vehicle may be neither runs or perhaps a bicycle.
Central heat is the sun and air conditioning is the breeze.
Overweight is perhaps proof that there is a food bank near by.
OK I exaggerate, but all could be true technically, but would say little about the real quality of life.
Still, out of the gate, I would have thought the poor people living in housing projects and apartments, let alone on the streets, would be quite a tidy number.
So as ratifar asked...?

NStuff,

You have obviously never experienced poverty. You obviously don't know anyone who grew up in or continues to live in poverty. Spend a week in one of Chicago's 'hoods, or among the Katrina survivors in tainted trailers, or among the hills of West Virginia. Read a book or two or three. Then feel free to comment about poverty again.

@dulios
Reading some of NStuff's other comments, one does think that any idea not extremely right wing will not receive a favorable hearing. Strangely enough, the words 'nasty' and 'stuff it' come to mind, or is it surprising?
I doubt very much that NStuff will publish the study that revealed the true average poor persons happy state that foolish liberal do gooders refuse to acknowledge.

The average poor person in America:
- owns their own house

As far as I can tell this is not true. According to the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, the percent of poor people who own their home is 46%, less than half. I wouldn't take Heritage's number at face value, because they have an ideological incentive to make the poor look as well off as they can. But in any case, NStuff is probably wrong on this point.