Michele, you are right about it being easier than one might think to slow or eliminate the poverty factor, but there are a lot of rich white folks who don't want the problem solved except by doing harm to those who are poor. They need it as an excuse for the various types of discrimination used against people who are not rich and white, well, and male too. I knew in school that my Black friends were being discriminated against. We talked about it and the frustration they felt that so little was being done. Still too little is being done and Republicans and corporations of all stripes are on board with keeping things as they are; they get a cheap workforce that can be used and abused nearly at will, then blamed for their poverty and desperation. A win-win for people like Trump.