For the children of the poor, education is emphasised: the poorer your family, the worse, on average, you do at school, and the worse your chances of getting a good job, or any job at all.

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That is a major reason why the average American family feels poorer today than the average family of 1968.

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Also, one of them told me they rather enjoy letting all these poorer relations into the family.

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The Family and Parenting Institute also warned that poorer grandparents were at risk of being exploited by the state as a "cheap safety net for childcare".

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Small houses, barely more than shanties, and "shotgun" two-family structures were common in the poorer neighborhoods.

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In the crassest instances, rich people buy their way out of trouble, while a much poorer stand-in sacrifices his or her freedom in hopes that the associated cash will brighten life for other family members.

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