Personal choice, including her decision to have so many children, plays a role in it, of course, but the choices in front of her are limited by a host of factors, including an income that won't support her family.

She doesn't blame anyone for that -- doesn't bemoan the wealth here.

She absolutely loves her job.

But, to use a popular metaphor, the middle rungs of the economic ladder have vanished in Lake Providence. There's almost no middle class.

Middle class stopped having children and became rich or started having them and became poor?

True or not it's sad that it's so much easier in this country to go from middle class to rich than it is to go from poor to middle class.

EDIT: wasoxygen said something a few months ago that has stuck with me -- if I recall correctly he questioned whether income inequality was inherently bad. Can't seem to find it now. I mention it because I can't help but be skeptical of any statistic that has the United States in the same lot as Nigeria and Iran. So I've been thinking about the point from that angle for a while now. No conclusions yet.