What if the guy used to work for somebody like, I don't know, Enron. All the sudden lost everything, not too many people in the market for his line of work, but instead of sitting on his butt, he decides to keep busy, at anything, even if it doesn't make him rich. Do you think that everyone in the middle class just magically stays there forever and never sees any hardship that could place them in the poverty class?? You need to get out more, or practice some volunteerism, maybe feed the homeless on the weekends and hear their side of the story, not everyone in poverty made a concious decision to be there.