Starving Artists

Freakonomics-style quandary : are artists poor because they are pursuing their craft or do they pursue their craft because they are poor?

Personal forms of art, such as writing, painting, drawing, etc, are a relatively cheap way to "keep busy" or entertain oneself. If a potential artist were rich, wouldn't their be more incentive to do fun leisure activities than pursue the rigorous and often difficult challenge of making art?

If you're poor and can't afford a fancy steak and nice wine on a hot date Friday night, it becomes increasingly more likely you'll spend time at home penning or drawing.

*note this idea came to me while reading John Fante's "Ask the Dust," where he discusses such things at length.