I admit it - I’ve grown up as a sheltered rich kid in a nice, suburban style house inside the city. I’ve never known that many people much poorer than me, so I was wondering: What are the reasons that people are poor? As the conservatives would have it, they’re all lazy, and the liberals usually tend to think that they’re oppressed. Of course, I’m sure its somewhere inbetween, so i was wondering if you could give me the straight dope. I guess this could get sent to great debates eventually, but I’ll start it here cause it’s a general question at the moment.
Your characterization of the conservative position on the poor is a stereotype and is incorrect.
There is no one single reason why some people are poor, the same way there is no one single reason why some people live in nice suburban houses. 
People are poor because they lack high-paying jobs, or because they don’t know how to manage the money they do have very well, or both. They lack high-paying jobs because they don’t have the training, or the education, for higher-paying jobs. They frequently don’t have the training or the education because they are living in a time and place where they are not encouraged to get that training or education, or because they don’t have a ride to that training or education, or because they can’t stop working at Burger King long enough to go to night school, because it’s more important short-term to put food on the table than it is to go to school for long-term goals.
Some people are poor because they’re lazy. Some people are poor because they’re stupid. Some people are poor because they’re evil spongers. Some people are poor because they are ill, either physically or mentally. Some people are poor because they’ve had some bad breaks. Some people are poor because of a combination of all of the above.
Some people are poor.