Rich and Poor

Not a bad article, but it makes me a bit upset.
http://www.therecord.com/opinion/letters/article/704856--reduce-the-gap-between-rich-and-poor
First of course is correllation and causation.
How does having rich people result in relatively poor people making bad decisions?
Remember these "poor" in first world countries are still astonishing rich by global standards.

Second simply taking money from the "rich" and giving it to the poor doesn't work. I grew up in a lower class neighbourhood, and I live in an upper/middle one now. The mindset is different, and I think that's the cause.

What we need is for the "poor" to change to a different mindset and act more like rich people, and make better life choices. Handouts don't do this.
I'd argue handouts have the opposite effect, why bother putting in effort to improve things if they'll just hand it to you?

It's a sad way to live, and I don't think the government should encourage it.