That's a lot of it. Having grown up poor myself, and having family and old connections that are still poor, I can tell you that there's another element to it as well.
A lot of poor people resent society due to their poverty. There's a constant meme that their poverty is some one else's fault ("the man", "the rich", "white people", "government", "minorities", "foreigners" are all common ones, depending who you're talking to). It's a defeatist point of view, but it does two things. It allows them to protect their egos by directing blame for their situation at other people. It also allows them to justify poor decisions, because the world is setup against them, so why bother? You will often see this kind of rhetoric if you spend casual time with people in poverty.
You'll also see a slightly different permutation of this, where some people in poverty see the way out as only possible through someone else's actions. Whether that be a charity, the government, or just a personal relationship. They feel very disempowered and defeated, and often look for events out of their control to "save" them, rather than taking actions to correct their situation. Again, why bother saving money if you can't fix the situation. You might as well have a good time while you wait for someone else to save you.
I, personally, believe these mental traps to be a non-trivial part of what keeps people in poverty.
A lot of poor people resent society due to their poverty. There's a constant meme that their poverty is some one else's fault ("the man", "the rich", "white people", "government", "minorities", "foreigners" are all common ones, depending who you're talking to). It's a defeatist point of view, but it does two things. It allows them to protect their egos by directing blame for their situation at other people. It also allows them to justify poor decisions, because the world is setup against them, so why bother? You will often see this kind of rhetoric if you spend casual time with people in poverty.
You'll also see a slightly different permutation of this, where some people in poverty see the way out as only possible through someone else's actions. Whether that be a charity, the government, or just a personal relationship. They feel very disempowered and defeated, and often look for events out of their control to "save" them, rather than taking actions to correct their situation. Again, why bother saving money if you can't fix the situation. You might as well have a good time while you wait for someone else to save you.
I, personally, believe these mental traps to be a non-trivial part of what keeps people in poverty.