I don&#x27;t think you have your economic mental model quite right - costs don&#x27;t increase like that unless the cost of production increases to match, which only really happens with goods manufactured domestically where labor accounts for most of the cost. Since we have a global trade system, it is possible to have a very skewed distribution and have even the poorest be quite comfortably well off, if the country is very rich. As the third world gets wealthier, though, that might cause rising goods prices, as they demand higher wages. But that&#x27;s not related to the distribution of wealth within one country.<p>And you don&#x27;t really need your own monetary capital to have economic mobility - for the poor, time and expertise is the capital. Good public education increases that expertise, and is one of the best ways to provide economic mobility. Also, if more money is necessary than one can save up, there are always small business loans from banks.