1. Think they are trapped in their current economic condition and not doing the simple things to get them into a better economic condition
2. Breed
3. Fail to take personal responsibility
4. Commit Crime. I don't mean this just due to the consequences of when they are caught. When people do things that they know are wrong, it eats at their own soul. They lose so much respect for themselves that they live a miserable life and think they don't deserve better.
5. Overspend (I was reluctant to put this in here because the middle class and the rich also do this but it is so much more harmful to the poor). One or two years of true sacrifice can really make a huge financial difference.
6. Not getting themselves a DL or ID. This leads to so many problems .. no bank account, limited ability to travel if needed, use of check cashing establishments, etc.
7. Surrounding themselves with losers and/or emulating the behavior of losers.
8. Repeating the cycle for their offspring - Not marrying and not supporting children. A family unit is a very stabilizing thing in life. It is good for the parent to have responsibility and take on that responsibility, and it is important for the kid to see the parent being responsible.
9. Live in expensive places.
10. Drugs - it is an unnecessary LARGE expense and it makes one less likely to change #'s 1-9
I guess #3 is the big one. If you work hard and make a few sacrifices, building a nice nest egg really isn't that hard. If you are working just 50 hours a week, you have plenty of time to better yourself into a higher paying position.
Good list....I think I would put #7 at the top as that is where one receives the supporting chorus as to why all the other listed behaviors might be cool