I agree that some of the conditions that cause poverty could hit anyone regardless of culture. You are correct there. We've had poverty strike Europe, Asia, Africa at some time or another often in the form of warfare, or sometimes ecological disaster like the dust bowel.

It's the response to poverty where culture differs. Maybe we disagree on the definition of culture? I mean what people of a given background value in terms of where they put there time, their societal norms, and what is acceptable and what is not. Not all cultures are the same, and they don't all have the same success.

For example: All Australians swim. It's in our culture. Nearly every child is taught to swim. My Asian side of the family doesn't value swimming, instead they spend that time doing extra academic lessons. They see swimming lessons as a waste. My Australian side values the 40 hour work week and has a high affinity towards the labor movement. My Asian side does not, 40 hours is seen as the minimum. And so forth. You'll find a myriad of cultural differences.

The book "Outliers" does a good job of going through some of this.