# Entrepreneurship as a way out of poverty **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 25, 2016, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entrepreneurship-as-a-way-out-of-poverty/755632 "2016-05-25T05:33:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entrepreneurship-as-a-way-out-of-poverty/755632/101 "2016-05-26T14:54:41Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > I think the point behind the OP is that some will succeed and lift themselves out of poverty. Those that don’t succeed will still be poor, so they will have lost nothing. In addition to having lost everything they put into the business (tools, equipment), they may have tax problems. That’s a huge issue for small businesses who go under. They can’t afford to pay the taxes they’ve accrued, and the IRS is not forgiving. They may go under because of a lawsuit. And they lose self esteem. There are a few people who can repeatedly fail at a business and be ok. Most people take a self esteem hit. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entrepreneurship-as-a-way-out-of-poverty/755632/102 "2016-05-26T14:57:05Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > But that isn’t in the least like what I said. I think there’s **plenty** of merit in an anti-poverty strategy that successfully takes care of even a significant **fraction** of people who are poor. > > **I’m just trying to find out, to a very rough approximation, how big you think that fraction could realistically be, and why.** Again, why are you so resistant to attempting any kind of realistic quantitative assessment of the actual effectiveness of the ideas you’re endorsing? Here’s a report that gives some numbers: [Increasing Entrepreneurship is a Key to Lowering Poverty Rates](http://www.realclearmarkets.com/docs/2012/11/PR254%20Increasing%20Entrepreneurship.pdf) From there: > [@](#): > > Further evidence of how entrepreneurship can be a ladder out of poverty comes from the Aspen Institute. Researchers there conducted a five-year survey in the mid-1990s that followed more than 1,500 low-income entrepreneurs across the nation. Close to three-fourths (72 percent) of those low-income entrepreneurs experienced an increase in their household income of more than $8,000, to $22,374. Their household assets increased by an average of more than $15,000 over five years. Perhaps most impressive, more than half (53 percent) had moved out of poverty in five years. Another study found that those who were on welfare before becoming entrepreneurs were able to generate enough income on their own that, on average, the amount of public assistance that these entrepreneurs accepted declined by 61 percent between 1988 and 1992.27 > > Finally, economists have tracked upward income mobility among low-income entrepreneurs. A classic study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research in 2000 tracked the placement of low-income entrepreneurs in the income distribution over time. The authors concluded that, “in the sample as a whole, for individuals who began toward the bottom of the earnings distribution, continuous experience with self-employment was a successful strategy for moving ahead (relative to wage-earners), both in the short- and long-term.28 ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entrepreneurship-as-a-way-out-of-poverty/755632/103 "2016-05-26T15:15:18Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Here’s a report that gives some numbers: [Increasing Entrepreneurship is a Key to Lowering Poverty Rates](http://www.realclearmarkets.com/docs/2012/11/PR254%20Increasing%20Entrepreneurship.pdf) Your going to need a lot of controls there before you extrapolate. Most people on public assistance are there due to temporary circumstances and move on to a more lucrative living quite quickly. So I’d want to see these numbers compared to a control group that took a more traditional route. Secondly, people who choose to become entrepreneurs are almost certainly more likely to have some positive factors (access to startup funds, a strong support network, etc.) and less likely to have limiting factors (chronic illness, small children, raging drug addiction, etc.). What works for a 22 year old college graduate who can’t find a job isn’t necessarily going to work for a 65 year old with lung cancer and custody of two toddlers. You’ll need to control for these factors. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entrepreneurship-as-a-way-out-of-poverty/755632/104 "2016-05-26T15:29:50Z")
What? I thought the debate was something along the likes of “Is entrepreneurship a way out of poverty?” Not “Is it a way out of poverty for 65 year olds with lung cancer and custody of two children?” Nor “Is it a way out of poverty for 22 year old college drop outs who can’t find a job?” Should every idea for uplifting people out of poverty be broken down into estimated success rate for 1000’s of contrived living conditions that you can come up with? “Hey, they are offering factory jobs for people in poverty! That sounds like a good idea!” “Yeah, what about poor people WITH NO HANDS? How can they work at that factory, huh? Your idea is stupid!” :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entrepreneurship-as-a-way-out-of-poverty/755632/105 "2016-05-26T15:40:27Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > Um… I _really_ don’t think it works like that. When you fail at a business venture, you lose money. Not if you didn’t have any to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entrepreneurship-as-a-way-out-of-poverty/755632/106 "2016-05-26T16:17:35Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Not if you didn’t have any to begin with. Let’s say through some miracle, a bank gives you a small-business loan with no collateral (cuz you’re poor, remember?) Do you think the bank is just going to look the other way when you fail to pay them back? Yeah, you could just default. But that fucks up your credit. Fuck up your credit and it becomes hard to rent an apartment, buy a car, or even get a job. Not to mention, borrow any more money. Including for school. A shitload of 20-somethings are finding themselves in this exact predicament with student loans. They are learning that wage garnishment is not just something that happens to deadbeat parents. Of course, a lot of these folks are lucky that they have middle-class parents keeping them from living on the street and starving. Some don’t even have to worry about their credit-unworthiness keeping them from homeownership because of Mommy and Daddy’s generosity. But a poor person who ruins their credit has almost no hope of ever getting out of the muck. Most poor Americans aren’t mired in abject poverty, fortunately. But you better believe if the majority tried their hand at legal entrepreneurship, there would be more folks transitioning to open-air living arrangements than moving on up to the east side. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entrepreneurship-as-a-way-out-of-poverty/755632/107 "2016-05-26T16:28:51Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > What? I thought the debate was something along the likes of “Is entrepreneurship a way out of poverty?” Is there a debate there? Obviously entrepreneurship is a way out of poverty for some people. But then, lottery tickets, sports contracts, becoming a model and investing in Apple are ways out of poverty, too. The larger question is: is it a reliable way out of poverty. I think if it were that easy, people would have caught on by now. To posit otherwise is to posit that the poor are irrational actors, which is pretty unlikely. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entrepreneurship-as-a-way-out-of-poverty/755632/108 "2016-05-26T16:58:56Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > The larger question is: is it a reliable way out of poverty. I think if it were that easy, people would have caught on by now. To posit otherwise is to posit that the poor are irrational actors, which is pretty unlikely. Who ever said it was easy? Does anyone think it should be EASY? Life is hard. Being successful is hard. Overcoming the challenges of poverty is hard. It takes hard work and determination to be a better person, a richer person, a smarter person. I don’t believe everyone has the will to do it, no. But the opportunities are there, there for almost everyone to take advantage of. People just need to DO something to take advantage of them. The excerpt I posted describe a study where more than half (53 percent) of low-income entrepreneurs had moved out of poverty in five years. Do you think it was easy for them? I doubt it. In fact, I’m sure it took a lot of effort. And besides, a lot of poor people ARE irrational actors, acting against their own best interests. Buying a new truck when you can’t afford rent? Irrational. Not using birth control when you haven’t even graduated high school? Irrational. Renting furniture at huge rates of interest? Irrational. Note that I didn’t say ALL poor people. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entrepreneurship-as-a-way-out-of-poverty/755632/109 "2016-05-26T16:59:35Z")
I wonder what the left wing response would have been to a topic titled “Working at a Job Can Get You Out of Poverty.” ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entrepreneurship-as-a-way-out-of-poverty/755632/110 "2016-05-26T17:06:00Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > I wonder what the left wing response would have been to a topic titled “Working at a Job Can Get You Out of Poverty.” Are you serious? Jobs are hard! If jobs were so easy, EVERYONE would be doing one! You can’t just “get a job” and expect to make it out of poverty! What about people who can’t work? The elderly and disabled? The single mother with one eye, one leg, and 5 children she has to support? How is SHE supposed to get a job? Your mythical “job” idea is stupid! ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entrepreneurship-as-a-way-out-of-poverty/755632/111 "2016-05-26T17:32:35Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Let’s say through some miracle, a bank gives you a small-business loan with no collateral (cuz you’re poor, remember?) Why the need for a loan in the first place? You’re poor - you’re not going to get one. If you’re poor and looking at a business for which you need a loan then you’re looking at the wrong thing. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entrepreneurship-as-a-way-out-of-poverty/755632/112 "2016-05-26T17:51:29Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > If that was a serious question to me, then the answer is that postulating a seasonal lawn-care startup run and staffed by a poor individual with no pre-existing customer base or capital **isn’t** in fact the most optimistic of scenarios. Even if we assume that lawn-care guy catches a lot of breaks in terms of good weather and getting a lot of gigs, etc., it’s still a very precarious way to make a living. > > Which is why most of the folks **Starving Artist** sees pulling down that sweet sweet $30 per mowing gig are either casual labor such as schoolkids earning pocket money, or employees of various types of landscaping firms with typically much larger and more diverse operations. There simply are not a lot of individual entrepreneurs living a secure middle-class life off of lawn-mowing. I didn’t realize that “middle class life” was a requirement. I thought we were shooting for “more than minimum wage” ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entrepreneurship-as-a-way-out-of-poverty/755632/113 "2016-05-26T18:01:53Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > (Immigrants are often so successful at this kind of small entrepreneurship because of community **networks** : immigrants from the same place tend to congregate in particular regions or municipalities where they stay in touch with one another, so when somebody needs legal advice, the neighbor’s aunt’s brother-in-law whose cousin’s daughter is a lawyer is brought into the loop, and so on.) I had never thought about it, but this same dynamic is present in a lot of poor communities (particularly in mine, in rural Appalachia), except the potential entrepreneur is on the other side of it, and it’s a huge barrier to success. To use an example I’ve seen myself more than once–say you’re a young man living with your parents in a little community (“up a holler”, we’d say) where half the people are your actual extended family and the other half might as well be. You’re tired of living off Mom and Dad’s disability checks, so you take some initiative and put up flyers in the hospital offering to detail cars. You have some friends there who will vouch for you, and you’re good at it, so after the first week you’ve managed to make $500. Problem is, your brother got put in jail a couple of weeks ago and needs bail money. Your cousin is going to go to jail if he doesn’t pay his child support, as will your sister if she can’t pay any on her fine. Your other sister has to go to the Suboxone clinic or you’ll have to watch her go through withdrawal, and they only take cash. Your aunt needs gas money to get to the radiation appointments for her cancer. They’re about to turn Mary Ellen up the road’s water off. It doesn’t take all of those people–one or two can drain any extra money that’s coming in. And because these communities are so tightly-knit, saying no can be tough. So after a week of busting your ass and using the few resources you have at your disposal, you’re no closer to being out of poverty. And there’s no reason to think it’ll be any different next week. I’ve known a lot of people who have tried to pick up odd jobs but tried not to let their families find out. Most of the people I’ve known who came from that background and managed to be successful are the ones who moved away. I don’t know other ways to get around that barrier. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entrepreneurship-as-a-way-out-of-poverty/755632/114 "2016-05-26T18:05:30Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > No, all you need is a lawn mower, an edger, a weedeater and a blower. A small pickup truck large enough to hold these items is all that’s needed, not a flatbed truck. Or alternatively a small trailer to pull behind a car. I’ve seen guys operate mowing service out of a car, toting everything in the trunk. Not the easiest or most elegant way to go about it, but doable nonetheless until enough money’s coming in to buy a small used pickup truck. I mispoke (mostly because a flatbed truck is not what I thought it was). Yes a truck and a trailer is fine. But that still costs money and you can’t really mow a lot of lawns with a residential size lawn mower. > [@](#): > > Sure you can. I can mow, edge, weedeat and blow the concrete areas clean in a little less than an hour. Anyone with the desire to do so and in reasonably good health can easily mow and groom 8 lawns a day. Given travel time, break time and so forth he (or she, I’ve seen women doing it too) might be looking at a ten hour work day or a little more, but most people who are self-employed work more than eight hours a day. How much would you pay to have someone mow your lawn on a regular basis becauseif you are mowing edging, weedeating and blowing your lawn in under and hour, I gotta say your lawn does not sound large enough to warrant $30. > [@](#): > > Again, you don’t need a large truck and you don’t need to be particularly strong, and especially not if you’re using a self-propelled lawnmower. Have you done a lot of physical labor in your life? Just emptying the bag takes physical strength. > [@](#): > > I’ll clue you to what goes on another step up the lawn mowing ladder. Some guys hire a crew of three other guys and they go out mowing all day long, knocking out three lawns an hour (or four if their route is tight enough). The guy who owns the operation grosses about $90 to $120 an hour, and by paying his workers $10 an hour or so, nets $60 to $90 an hour for himself, less a small amount for gasoline and incidentals. > > There are a couple of guys in Houston (or at least there were a few years back) with an operation mowing 2,000 lawns a week. They hire workers from Mexico here on H1B visas (I think that’s what they are, but I may be wrong) and provide cheap, more or less assembly line mow and blow service for $20 a pop (may be more now, like I said the information is several years old). Last I heard they were netting a couple hundred thousand a year each. These are not options for the poor. This is what happens when an entrepreneur succeeds. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entrepreneurship-as-a-way-out-of-poverty/755632/115 "2016-05-26T18:12:38Z")
> [@Lee\_Q](#): > > Been reading this whole thread with mixed thoughts. Mostly others are saying what I might’ve wanted to add, and probably saying it better. Maybe further downthread someone will comment on this, too, but I just can’t let it pass. You’re missing a major qualifier: SOME people can move anywhere in the 48 contiguous states pretty easily. Lots of others can’t. > > SOME people can’t even move from one side of town to the other “pretty easily.” I’ve personally been in all these subgroups and know whereof I speak. It is wildly inaccurate to suggest that even _most_ people have such ease of major geographic mobility, let alone the (I guess?) entire population you seem to suggest by way of including no qualifiers. The blitheness of the comment bothers me more than I care to admit. Noone said that EVERYONE can move easily or even that MOST people can move easily but the notion that entrepreneurship is not a solution in places like Kansas City because 60,000 can’t start their own business is pretty silly. Aside from the fact that many of those entrepreneurs will have to hire help, if you really can’t find a job in Kansas city because there are no opportunities then there are enough people that can move that you can relieve a lot of that pressure. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entrepreneurship-as-a-way-out-of-poverty/755632/116 "2016-05-26T18:27:48Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Why the need for a loan in the first place? You’re poor - you’re not going to get one. If you’re poor and looking at a business for which you need a loan then you’re looking at the wrong thing. Do you not understand how businesses are created? How do you start a business off with NO capital? I’m not even talking about the hundreds/thousands you need for insurance, licensing, and fees. I’m talking about the hundreds/thousands you need to buy the equipment or the inventory. The rent on your storefront or the printer’s costs for all the handbills and signage. How are you going to make change for your customers if you don’t have any cash on hand? The only kind of business that a poor person can start without a big outlay is some kind of illegal hustle, and even hustling has starting costs. I was a sidewalk vendor for two years, and the experience taught me how difficult it is to run your own business, especially if you’re working solo. It was just a hobby for me since I have a good day job, so the annual $400 I’d have to shell out wasn’t a biggie to me. I never stressed out over bad weather or personal illness, but these would have been horrible for me if my livelihood had depended on always being out there, hustling. And I was so lucky I had a dependable automobile and that I lived right around the corner from one of the most lucrative (expensive) spots in town. How would a poor person be able to compete with the likes of me? I’m curious what job you think a poor person can start without spending any money before hand that would generate more than pin money… ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entrepreneurship-as-a-way-out-of-poverty/755632/117 "2016-05-26T18:32:41Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Well, I’m not the one who brought a comparison with a TV character into the discussion, I was just rolling with it. > > And besides, why does every time someone has an idea (lawn mowing, going to school, moving to a better place), naysayers pop up saying “Well not EVERYONE would benefit from that so that idea is stupid!” > > Who is telling EVERY poor person to do the same things? I think the basic thought is just DO SOMETHING! Don’t sit around whining about how you are poor and life is hard boo hoo hoo! > > There are over a million illegal (or unauthorized or undocumented or whatever term you want to use) immigrants from El Salvador and Guatemala. THEY managed to move ALL THE WAY to the US, and somehow poor people can’t find a way to move across town? > > A good quote I stole from the Rational Harry Potter series - “The world around us redunds with opportunities, explodes with opportunities, which nearly all folk ignore because it would require them to violate a habit of thought” > > And it seems like the habit of thought is “Poor people can’t do it” My point was not that it is impossible to get out of poverty, just that to do it you need to analyze the market and make rational business decisions. One of the first things a book about writing a business plan says is not to assume that there is market out there ripe for the taking - tons of people unhappy with their lawn service, for instance. And concentrating on those one or two people who make money means you don’t get the lessons from the tens or hundreds of people who didn’t. Look at the new business failure rate. The people we’re talking about are the ones who can least afford to take a bath. If you have a competitive advantage, go for it. If your plan is to buy a used lawn mower and knock on doors in a region with lots of existing mowing services, you might have a problem. Same goes for restaurants or manicure services or anything else. Hell, during the Bubble I knew lots of people who went into and really believed in lots of stupid start-ups. And they had PhDs. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entrepreneurship-as-a-way-out-of-poverty/755632/118 "2016-05-26T18:33:05Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I’m curious what job you think a poor person can start without spending any money before hand that would generate more than pin money… There was an example a few posts up that only needed some flyers, a few rags, and a bucket. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entrepreneurship-as-a-way-out-of-poverty/755632/119 "2016-05-26T18:34:54Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > My point was not that it is impossible to get out of poverty, just that to do it you need to analyze the market and make rational business decisions. In other words, you have to actually get off your ass and DO something? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entrepreneurship-as-a-way-out-of-poverty/755632/120 "2016-05-26T18:37:28Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > I wonder what the left wing response would have been to a topic titled “Working at a Job Can Get You Out of Poverty.” Probably pretty good, since many of us support the government giving jobs to people who can’t find them in industry during downturns. Kind of like WPA. And when times are good, like in the Clinton years, drug dealers find they can make more money in traditional jobs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entrepreneurship-as-a-way-out-of-poverty/755632.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entrepreneurship-as-a-way-out-of-poverty/755632.md?page=7)