The View That Rules Now, Ruins Forever

This quote, from a NYT reader commenting on the Economix blog:

Good policies can uplift the unfortunate, but not all poverty can be attributed to misfortune. There will always be poor people, no matter what policies are implemented, so long as there are people who lack diligence, competence, trustworthiness, or some combination of the three. — Matt

it pretty much ruined my day. Poverty as moral reward. Wonder what his toilet training was like.