I lack empathy for people who are poor purely because they decide to stay poor or don't want to work to become comfortable and/or prepare for their future/retirement.

Part of the reason I lack empathy is because I myself have worked my ass off (and I am still working my ass off) to raise myself up and make life for myself and my daughter comfortable. I do everything I can to stay off of government assistance and stay independent.

I was raised in a lower class family living paycheck to paycheck. For a good chunk of my childhood we ate leftovers from the restaurant my mom worked at. My parents worked hard to make life happy for my sister and I anyway but a week before my tenth birthday my dad died. My mom couldn't raise us by herself so she married the first stable man she found and while he is a good man, he had a bit of an anger problem and was not ready to be raising two pre-pubescent girls. Due to problems with my parents and my step dad's anger issues, I moved out at age 15 and got my own place. I somehow managed to work hard and get good grades and graduated with honors, but I ended up getting pregnant at 18 (well, can't be perfect! lol). I have been working and struggling as a single mother, but I worked my ass off, and I finally managed to work up enough to go back to school. I am about to finish my first full year back at college, I have a pretty great job making well more than minimum wage, and am well on my way to having my life pretty together. I even have a 401K!!

Anything is possible if you are willing to work for it. It drives me crazy when people aren't willing to work for it, then claim the possible is impossible because "the world is against them" or whatever the case may be.

Tl;Dr- I have no empathy for the poor who decide to stay poor.

Side note: I fully recognize some people are stuck where they are with little hope and that really sucks. I do have empathy in that case.