In other words, hard/smart work is necessary, but often not sufficient, to climb out of poverty.
The children of refugees and immigrants at our school often end up quite successful - even when they come not knowing the language to start with. I suspect thereâs something to the effect of their parents being willing to travel hundreds or thousands of miles, enduring hardship, and being willing themselves to do practically anything as a job here to try to provide a better life for their family that makes a difference.
The kids already here whose parents arenât exactly candidates for any âParent of the Yearâ award have it much harder when it comes to success. Many kids born into poverty here who do make it have either a parent (or two) who would qualify for that award or at least one other adult in their lives who fills that position for them. I have a ton of respect for folks like Jeannette Walls (Glass Castle) who make it, but her story is certainly not the norm for those with her background. Again, a higher IQ is involved there along with the drive to make it.
You have to dig into why they are ineligible. Mostly people are ineligible because they are overweight, have excessive drug use, canât pass a pt test, didnât graduate high school, or have a criminal record.
@roethlisburger I know weâre just one school, but the majority of those ineligible for military service at my high school are turned down for legit medical reasons, the last one I heard about being excessive acne. That lad was told if it cleared up he could try again, but in the meantime he graduated and needed a job. He was not a college-type lad.
Plenty in high school have no interest in the military whether eligible or not if they checked into it. Itâs a pretty big commitment.
The military screens for intelligence, at most times preferring candidates with IQ > ~90. Itâs been illegal for decades to induct anyone with an IQ lower than about 83. (For an interesting history why, google âMcNamaraâs Morons.â)
About 1/3rd of the general population simply does not have the cognitive ability to join the armed forces, and there is literally nothing most of this group can do about it. I have seen estimates that approximately 1/4 of high school graduates lack the requisite cognitive capacity (see, e.g., https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/after-service/201801/are-military-members-the-lowest-our-low).
Because low intelligence is correlated with being in poverty, many poor people cannot realistically look to the military as a way to improve their prospects in life.
Poverty limits choice of housing. Where people live can have a huge effect on their health. Examples: Not being able to move from places where companies have chosen to locate or to not remove toxic substances. Not being able to move from places where the government knows about toxins in water (Flint) or paint (Milwaukee). Having to live in close quarters with people who engage in criminal behavior, which raises the risk of being a victim of violence. Living in fresh-food deserts.
Chronic asthma is another factor that may disqualify a candidate from armed services (you would be a liabilty and expense rather than an asset).
Military service doesnât always provide marketable or translatable skills. Our neighbor was promised training in law enforcement by signing up for the military. He ended up as a guard at a prison for his military service. When he came out, heâs only been able to get a job as a 7-11 clerk.
My own military career was ended because a Navy hospital determined I had asthma. I had to quickly figure out a Plan B and thatâs after having been in for a little bit during college - having successfully completed AF Field Training and a Pentagon assignment. Three decades later and I found out their diagnosis was wrong (sigh), but such is life. Iâve definitely wondered âwhat ifâ many times since, but at least I like what Plan B ended up being. Not everyone is as fortunate - esp if their medical condition is real.
Housing is a huge problem. There was a story within the last year or two about someone who won the Section 8 housing lottery and given a voucher but was unable to find an apartment to rent with the voucher. I believe the person in the story remained homeless or living in a temporary situation like a motel. And that is not an isolated problem. Kids that have to move constantly lose much of the benefits of school, since they may attend sporadically or have to switch schools.
^^^^ Weâve had section 8 tenants. While the people were mostly great, working with the section 8 representative was like strolling thru the twilight zone. Makes one yearn for the day when one can simply deal with the IRS. This contributes to the ongoing lack of section 8 housing.
Some people have justifiable constraints on where they can live. But a lot of people are poor because they simply wonât move from an expensive big city or from a poor area with no jobs.
Many people do move or one of the partners moves for a job. For many, however, lack of funds makes it hard to move for a low-level job.
A HUGE factor in the intractability of multi-generational poverty is childhood trauma. Children who experience trauma â physical, sexual, or emotional abuse; having to watch domestic violence; having substance-addicted parents; not having enough to eat; witnessing violence in the community â have neurological changes to their brains that change the course of their lives forever. Childhood trauma is the big elephant in the room.
I know someone is going to say, âbut I grew up with domestic violence and sexual abuse, but now I am a college professor.â SOME children are able to get beyond the trauma. Most are not.
I donât doubt that that is true for some children who experience childhood trauma. I wonder if studies have been done on adults who were children during wartime. Iâm thinking of the children of Europe during WWII. Bombs falling, starvation, violence⊠a whole generation of European children went through this. But as far as I know that generation prospered as adults.
For those who read far enough in the linked article, the author talks about how the brain is neurologically changed. Itâs very real and not just a simple choice folks make. It can affect more than just that generation too.
Society used to think mental illnesses were all evil spirits and now most (educated) people know differently. Itâs turning out to be quite similar with types of poverty. Events that affected our grandparents can affect us (epigenetics). Events that affected our parents affect us. Events we experience even before our memories begin affect us. Plenty of folks everywhere are trying to determine what gives one sibling the edge to make it and another doesnât. Itâs often called a âgritâ factor - more or less means determination and the ability to shake things off. High IQ and someone there helping out are two very common factors. Those arenât really choices the person in poverty can align for themselves. Thereâs a huge luck factor.
I canât count the number of times Iâve been asked why I made it (success in life) and my sibling did not. We werenât among the very poor, but even so, I canât explain it. The older I get, the more I realize itâs not as simple as âchoicesâ we made. Our brains are wired differently. Iâm both thankful and humbled knowing it easily could have turned out the other way around. That knowledge is whatâs given me a heart for most people.
It costs a lot to move. If youâre poor, from where do you get the funds?
@TatinG Many wartime children have lifelong problems, but itâs very different when everybody is experiencing the same thing. No shame factor, no comparing yourself to others. âWeâre all in this togetherâ is a very powerful feeling.
That could be but wouldnât explain the neurological changes to the brain from the trauma. That is, if all children in your area were experiencing the trauma of war, then those neurological changes donât happen?
This isnât âwoe is me.â This is quantifiable science for how poverty affects our very genetic material.
The fact that many in this thread are still doing the thinly veiled âpull yourself upâ mantra is disheartening. Weâll have disgusting levels of inequality in this country until we get over the victim blaming.
But victim blaming seems to be a good coping tactic for the privileged to avoid acknowledging that their privilege was largely inherited, not earned⊠and I donât see that changing any time soon, unfortunately.
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Being a fetus during a famine like the 1944-45 hunger winter had lasting epigenetic effects:
http://www.naturalhistorymag.com/features/142195/beyond-dna-epigenetics
https://www.mailman.columbia.edu/public-health-now/news/prenatal-famine-drives-dna-methylation-and-adult-health-six-decades-later
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/31/science/dutch-famine-genes.html
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2014/07/moms-environment-during-pregnancy-can-affect-her-grandchildren
https://www.pnas.org/content/107/39/16757