Is it really hard to get out of poverty in the US? /u/Okay_Mango No such thing as stupid questions

I was born in the US but grew up in Mexico. I moved to the US when I was 16 by myself.

I rented a bedroom, worked and went to school. At some point I had 4 jobs. 10 years later I own my house, have a decent job, travel and consider myself middle class. I don’t stress about money, I’m healthy and very grateful for everything I built.

While it was hard work at times, I don’t think it was too hard. I always felt like I started with an advantage because I was a US Citizen, unlike a lot of immigrants around me who where either here with visas or illegal.

After meeting my husband (white) a lot of his extended family are poor, living in housing that should be condemned and on government help. How is this possible? I understand drugs and untreated mental illness, but we’re talking about healthy people. I always thought in the US, it was easier to better your life. There is no way I would’ve been able to accomplish what I have if I had stayed in my home country, yet with a little bit of effort it was doable here. I understand that the US has issues and I’m nowhere close to being filthy rich. But I don’t see it as unattainable to be economically stable.

How is it that a lot of Americans are living in poverty?

I was born in the US but grew up in Mexico. I moved to the US when I was 16 by myself.

I rented a bedroom, worked and went to school. At some point I had 4 jobs. 10 years later I own my house, have a decent job, travel and consider myself middle class. I don’t stress about money, I’m healthy and very grateful for everything I built.

While it was hard work at times, I don’t think it was too hard. I always felt like I started with an advantage because I was a US Citizen, unlike a lot of immigrants around me who where either here with visas or illegal.

After meeting my husband (white) a lot of his extended family are poor, living in housing that should be condemned and on government help. How is this possible? I understand drugs and untreated mental illness, but we’re talking about healthy people. I always thought in the US, it was easier to better your life. There is no way I would’ve been able to accomplish what I have if I had stayed in my home country, yet with a little bit of effort it was doable here. I understand that the US has issues and I’m nowhere close to being filthy rich. But I don’t see it as unattainable to be economically stable.

How is it that a lot of Americans are living in poverty?