Might I also mention that everybody knows how to do stuff. It’s almost a parallel society. People learn to do electrical, plumbing, small engine repair, gardening, sewing, play music, hunting, fishing, hvac...you name it!
Exactly! Before I left for the Navy I knew basic carpentry, plumbing, house wiring, engine mechanics, hunting and fishing. All learned from friends and family.
Economic poverty was not something to wear as a badge of victimhood seeking handouts. It was a driver to learn self sustaining behaviors and skills.
One’s value was not in grifting off the government dole but instead in learning to make use of the skills you had and the resources at hand.