The opening post put forth a question about the working poor. The working poor can be found in every segment of society, from Chassidic to Yeshivish to Modern Orthodox to RW Conservative to LW Conservative to Reform to Reconstructionist to everything inbetween :).
There are *some* communities that have a significant portion of the population poor, due mostly to *currently* being in Kollel; the OP was about working poor, not Kollel, and perhaps a segment due to “lack of training” secondary to the Kollel issue.
In BP, a large portion of the population is Chassidic, and this population does not frown upon work; to the contrary, there are many males who are working even prior to marriage. In Flatbush, there is no *large* Kollel population in comparison to the general population- they are more of a relative minority. So the majority of “working poor” in Flatbush are poor because they are poor, not because of eschewing education/training. There are multitudes of “teva” reasons why someone may be poor; there is no need to list them. The Williamsburgh population is not a majority Kollel population, and neither is the Monsey one. Neither is Highland Park, Passaic, Chicago, Detroit, Denver, Houston, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and Yardley. Yet there are working poor in each of these locales. I am not including E”Y in this post.
When people discuss the “Kollel effect” on subsequent earning ability, they must be talking about basically one community: Lakewood. That is the only community that has a Kollel/formerly in long-term Kollel majority, from which we can determine societal impact of Kollel/concept of eschewing training/education in the early adult years.
So…how can it be that a discussion on how to give a leg-up to the working poor devolves into a discussion of Kollel? Does no one see the working poor right in their own backyards? Does no one see the many struggling families in their own, non-“very yeshivish” communities? Whether Lakewood has a problem or not should not be the entire discussion- it is only ONE community! True, it is an important one, and a leader in Torah learning and dissemination. But numbers-wise, there are hundreds of communities around the USA, (not to exclude the working poor in Manchester, Golders Green, or Toulouse) and their total population numbers and working poor numbers far exceed those of one community, even a large community! Are the working poor in the Five-Towns to ignored?
In fact, the tuition requirements of some of these locales are far above those of “in-town”, exacerbating an already difficult situation. I think tuitions are a primary cause of financial distress, among other causes.
Talking about “Kollel families” and the families who don’t allow their child to get a kosher education (that will vary among families- some need a single-gender university, some a correspondence/online format of education, some encourage their children to follow natural talents such as carpentry, plumbing, musical prowess, etc) is to kick the real problem under the table because it’s so much more interesting (and the adrenalin rushes in) to talk about how ideology caused the problems. Perhaps the community(ies?) in which the problem is related to ideology is high profile, but numbers-wise, it is a small segment of the larger problem.
Discussion on how the “kosher” factor affects earning ability makes sense, because many Orthodox families don’t want their children on mixed campuses, and the Jewish ones available are not always an option for everyone. Furthermore, not everyone is cut out for white collar work, and there are many trades that can be mastered with the right, hands-on training/apprenticeship. Can we say we have a culture problem because not everyone wants to/is able to become a doctor or lawyer? I personally believe the correct hishtadlus does not necessarily mean one *must* attend graduate school leading to one of the top professions. One, for reasons of ability- it is Hashem who gave one the ability to become a physician. Two, for reasons of hashkafah and halacha- if a parent feels their child does not belong on a mixed campus and there is no local medical school, it seems the right hishtadlus-related decision to make another parnassah choice.
In summation, there is a real problem of working poor in communities around the USA, the majority of which do not have a Lakewood mentality, and I haven’t seen any less financial distress in Modern Orthodox communities or in Litvish communities that are open to kosher education/training than in Lakewood (I am familiar with all three above).
So…does anyone have ideas about the query in the OP?