[owen_griffiths]

This is more than outliers. There are way more middle / high income people over-extended to call them outliers. Also, there are pretty much whole countries of people who we would consider to have "poor" incomes who manage their money prudently.

[coldtea]

There are billions (BILLIONS) of people living in grave poverty in the developing world for whom "managing their money prudently" means not getting any shoes more than once a year or skipping diner.

The idea that any significant percentage of poor are poor because they are not prudent does not hold.

And even if it did, it's way easier to be "prudent" when you have a basic income that covers your needs and leaves a little or a lot more to be prudent with, than when you go hand to mouth with every paycheck.

[dennisgorelik]

> The idea that any significant percentage of poor are poor because they are not prudent does not hold.

It holds pretty well.

There is no contradiction in billions of people being not prudent.

It's easily achievable with poor culture dominating in the whole society.

[coldtea]

>There is no contradiction in billions of people being not prudent.

That's in theory -- we're talking about reality. If you think poor people in India, Asia, Africa etc. are poor because they are not "prudent" or because "poor culture" dominates the whole society you probably haven't met many in real life -- hardworking, pinching pennies and raising families on a handful of dollars a month.

It's easy for people playing life in easy-mode to condemn the poor's "lack of prudence" from a first world middle/upper class existence, where prudence means not buying a new car every 3 years.

[dennisgorelik]

Being hardworking is not enough. You should also work in a right direction and in right environment. Right culture helps you choose right direction and right environment. Right culture also helps you to make right changes in your political environment.

For example, if your culture allows lies and corruption from elected politicians, you are likely to create suboptimal environment around you.

My friends in Russia make that silly choice - they support lying corrupt politicians in favor of pleasing their nationalistic feelings.

Guess what - they lowered their income ~2x just by that.

[stretchwithme]

It is a function of culture. And experience. People who lived through the Depression or lived in another country where resources are hard to come by are more likely to be savers.

People who've been handed everything often don't prepare for the future.

People who understand the magic of compound interest are more likely to be savers.

People who've grown up with the government punishing savers, not so much. Perhaps they even think those who save are weird or outliers.