I grew up in a poor community and watched lots of people throw their lives away. They had just as much opportunity as I did, oftentimes, they had more than I did.
Being poor sucks, but nobody is coming to save poor people. They have to save themselves. That's how it's always been and how it will always be. Thinking that someday someone will come lift you out of poverty is the most surefire way to stay in it forever.
Call it self-aggrandizing if you want, but the reality of the world is harsh. And yeah it sucks, because the funny thing about working your way out of being poor is that poor people hate and resent you for it and start blaming you for their problems and demanding that you owe. I remember when I got my first job out of college and my old high school friends working minimum wage jobs at home started asking me for money and calling me a selfish greedy asshole for not giving it to them... the same one who dropped out of college because it was 'too hard'.