I think this is the crux of what drives me mad with these personal anecdotes of struggle. Is this the best we can do as a society, that a few poor people, through work and luck, can become less poor? What's the point of these stories, beyond just sharing one's personal experience? That the society we've got here is the best we can do?

because that drive to pull ones self up is what built the US into what it is today. without that drive what is the point of being more than what you are today? the struggle to be something more is literally the driving factor behind all of existence. the opportunity is out there for most people if they look hard enough. that said there are definitely some who need societal help to pull them out of a rut but it is most definitely not even close to a majority.

like others in this thread, i too came from a family living below the poverty line yet somehow turned that into a career despite not even having a degree. opportunity to me seems plentiful

What built the US into what it is today was its incredible amount of untapped resources, followed by military dominance and tapping into other countries' resources. Keeping people impoverished was (and is) not necessary for that.

Where exactly are you getting “keeping people impoverished” from? Is the assumption they will try and fail? What is forcing them to fail and therefor stay impoverished? The entire point is to move from having nothing to having something. Either you’re born into it, or someone who’s already earned it gives it to you.

I’m not going to bother with the other part of your comment as your clearly biased but I’ll assume you’re not insinuating that things magically happen without hard work, that just sounds silly.