Something I just saw and thought was interesting...

This tweet: "More folks would support gov't social programs if they experienced the pain of being a poor child."
 - http://twitter.com/Sherman_Alexie/status/211487391221944320.
I think that this is generally true...however, I also think there are some people who were poor or disadvantaged in some way while growing up, and the way they react to it is by throwing off their childhood and rushing into a better life, and then some of them might say, "If I did it this way, others should too. And if they didn't, it's their own fault for being lazy. I earned my money. And I'm not giving it away to the government."  And another thing, "If those people need help, they can just go to a church." So, although I do think that experiencing poverty as a kid can = more compassion for impoverished kids and more support for government social programs, it is not always a guarantee.
And kids who were poor and grew up in foster care and went into the army right out of high school may do that or kind of waver towards having that sort of attitude...'cause they're tough...