Okay. So you do not believe that the culture exist, and you also believe that the vast majority of poor people "will remain poor independent of individual actions". Alright, if that is your take on things, in your opinion answer me this. First allow me to say that when I say a culture of poverty, I am not speaking in terms of worst case scenarios. I'm simply using examples of what I come across in my daily dealings with people within my city and neighborhoods. Let's say we are talking about "families with a mom and dad and 2 kids, all with jobs, who can not make it out, despite their thriftiness and hustle". In relation to the parents, I can see the situation, but as the children grow older, isn't it the parents responsibility to instill in them that there's so much more to life, and with perseverance and drive they CAN have a better life? If there is no one there saying you dont have to live your life this way, go out and get an education and make something of yourself, then yes, they are doomed to repeat the cycle of substandard living. As far as our focus on the youth, I believe that we tend to have this "Let's focus on our future" mind set. In other words "We can't change the old, Let's work on the new" way of thinking. Believe me when I tell you, my view of the poor is wide open. I would be the first to tell you that I know this "culture of poverty" does not apply to every poor individual. But what do you say to a person who says "I was born in the ghetto, I was raised in the ghetto, and I'm gonna die in the ghetto"? If they pass this way of thinking on to their children, who may eventually pass it on to theirs, is that not a "culture" of poverty? It's a learned behaviour passed from parent to child. Is that not a culture. He's not being exposed to anything but substandard living. Is that not poverty? You may say I'm pulling nothing but worst case senarios out of my hat, but this is a common feeling amongst many youths who happen to live in low imcome communities. It's not like a 1 out of 200 kind of statistic. And I must stress this again, If you have enough money ($1500 according to you) to buy a caddy and hook it up (where I'm from, rims are not cheap,and I don't know too many brothers who would put cheap rims,or systems in their cars), then you have no business living in the projects. Open a bank account, ( in many cases it's free),save your money, and get the hell out. -Wisdom