Originally Posted by u-Bob

Being poor = having little or no capital (goods).
Having little or no capital = living from day to day.
Things that prevent people from building capital:
- personal preference / high time preference (eg: work 35hrs / week + party hard)
- aggression (eg: minimum wage laws that prevent unskilled workers from entering the market. Unions preventing people from entering the market. Patent laws excluding small companies from entering the market. 'Redistribution of wealth'. etc)