There will always be poor people.
It's just a fact that some people will stay poor for much of their lives due to their mental or physical situation or their own life choices.

Let's look at the things we can fix ourselves without expecting the government to step in.

Excluding teens working part time, if a person works at fast food for more than a year without advancing into management they should definitely question their life choices. Looking to the government for a boost up is silly. In order to continue moving up into better jobs there's a few things they can put into practice:
-Attendance: Just show up for work. Showing up will build discipline and display a desire to learn and improve.
-Be clean and presentable.
-Take on extra responsibilities and work toward advancement. Even if there's no advancement opportunities in your current business it will build experience and something to put on your resume.
-Finish school and always continue learning. College isn't for everyone and we can't all do desk work. There's plenty of apprenticeships and vocational schools that will help build a rewarding career in crafting and working with our hands.

Now lets look at the things that are hard to fix.
Mental health: Right now I feel that mental health is the biggest challenge that our society faces. The government and the healthcare agencies need to make it easier for people to identify themselves and their family as mentally ill and easier to get help for their mental issues.

Physical challenges: as a man with very serious health problems throughout my life I can say with certainly, yes it held me back, greatly.
Without going too much into it, I'll just say my body was sick and weak. Much of it led to self confidence issues and suicidal thoughts for much of my life. The health industry let me down in identifying the problem for many years.
I couldn't join the military, which is what I wanted more than anything.
I could only do certain jobs. When it came to heavy lifting, it was simply embarrassing not to be able to do what I saw other men able to do. I put into practice those principles above. I'm not rich, but I'm not dependent on the government either. I have a job working in an office. Is it stressful? Yes. But it's also rewarding.