Of course a conservative policy center will tell me that poor people are wasteful and/or lazy. However, the same Americans that are mostly living paycheck-to-paycheck are also the same Americans that work more hours than a lot of countries with much better situations. It's also not just about what you have... it's about where you can go and how far you are from outright financial ruin. In the US you are probably not mobile and probably just a serious illness or injury away from bankruptcy.

It's not like the amount of the cable bill would go very far to pay for things that other civilized nations take for granted, like medical care and education.