Acceptance of broken things. No action when you’re poor?

Hi everyone, former poor kid here. I grew up in trailers throughout the South, and this thought recently came back to me while volunteering as a disaster response health provider. In this role, I often see the living conditions of low-income households, which reminded me of my own childhood.

When I was growing up, my parents rarely fixed things around the house, or it would take months or even years to address issues. For example: Giant hole in the floor? We’d just walk around it. Broken septic tank pipe? “It’s fine; it still drains downhill.” Window shattered in a hurricane? We lived with an OSB board over it for over a decade.

Now, as an adult, I see this same pattern in many low-income households I visit. My question is: why is this so common? What leads to this acceptance of broken or unfixed conditions rather than addressing them? Is it purely about money, or is there something else at play?

Edit: This is not a “DaE pOoR pPl lAzY” post. It’s a legitimate question based on life experience and reoccurring patterns I’ve witnessed.