Kendall - My parents were both born into poverty and I was born to working class poor. Aside from their own determination and hard work, I believe that it was the GI Bill and good economic times that helped my parents claw their way into a better situation.

By the time I was born they could be considered working-class poor. My children were born to a university educated (thanks to the Canadian govt.), single mom who struggles to maintain a middle-class lifestyle.

Yes, it can be done with support and government assistance but...

what Wordsmith said is very, very true. Poverty is a social shame. Each time you succeed by climbing your way up the socio-economic ladder, you have to hide the shame of your past. Its like entering another country. You don't speak the same language, your manners are different and you solve problems in a different way.

You no longer have a social structure to support you. You become a stranger in unchartered territory. Not only that, the family and friends from your past, although they say they are proud of you, treat you like you are now different than they are. You are not the same.

So there you have it. You become a stranger to your family and friends and your new peers know that you are different but they can't quite put their finger on it. I'm watching my highly educated daughter experience the same thing. Her experiences, attitudes and her politics are different than mine and she struggles to fit in with her peers, socially.

Sometimes you wonder if its worth it or if you should have just stayed within the security of your own social class. Wordsmith's example was excellent, "the safest place for her was with the family to which her ancestors had belonged. So she stayed."

It takes an immense amount of courage to leave behind all that is familiar to you.   "You cannot thereby command respect for them or grant them self-respect, because these things are not within the power of the market or legislature." Thanks, Wordsmith for explaining why there is no neat toggle switch.

I still advocate, however, for 'equal opportunity'. Its important to have choices and to know that what you become is not pre-destined. Its called hope.