Americans are conflicted in their opinions about people living in poverty. About half think that circumstances beyond one's control are to blame if a person is impoverished, while about a third say

A) people living in poverty do not try hard enough.
B) there are no people living in poverty in the United States.
C) poverty was created by social welfare programs.
D) poverty can only be fixed by turning toward oligarchy.

A large percentage of Americans believe in the "American Dream" where hard work equates to success. This mentality can lead to the belief that people in poverty simply do not work hard enough. However, studies have shown that a variety of systemic issues such as discrimination, lack of access to education, and limited resources in impoverished communities can contribute to poverty. Thus, while individual effort may play a role, there are often larger societal and systemic factors at play.