Is it access to the networks, or that the networks are a fixed size?
To put it another way: one might say the reason people cannot get into university is they score too low on their grades -- so the solution is to get everyone the training to enable them to score higher. Except then the universities will simply set the entrance threshold higher.
It's not access to networks. It's not doing anything with the opportunity when they do have access. I see this a lot: those who view access as a mere possession go nowhere; those who view access as a means to an end advance. This, in the popular discussions of how to aid the poor, is woefully under-addressed - probably because for all the things you can do for someone (and feel good about doing), the one critical core factor is self-motivation: you can't make someone do what they need to for their own good.
This nation provides tremendous access to networks and other opportunities for the poor. Maybe not unlimited access to the top networks from the bottom (the classic "can't afford Harvard" red herring), but there is more than enough access to get out of poverty. The funding is there, the doors are open, the paths are clear, assistance is eager - but if someone won't take the steps that only they themselves can take, they won't get anywhere.
I see stark examples of this over and over. It's not lack of access, it's lack of personal motivation.
the one critical core factor is self-motivation: you can't make someone do what they need to for their own good.
I doubt that all of the poor lack all personal motivation. For one thing, there is considerable social disincentive for people who unintentionally signal that they are poor.
I remember reading one account of a poor woman who had no idea she could walk into a downtown skyscraper. She always thought that she'd have to check in at the desk or present some sort of ID. This is true for some buildings, but not for all of them.
In the case of attractive women, I'm sure the number of guys who would actually talk to her and ask for her number are much smaller than the number of guys that want to.
To put it another way: one might say the reason people cannot get into university is they score too low on their grades -- so the solution is to get everyone the training to enable them to score higher. Except then the universities will simply set the entrance threshold higher.