[InclinedPlane]

A tidy narrative, but not based in reality. Previous generations had easy access to decent paying jobs. Show up and work, that used to be commonplace, now it's rare. And that work used to pay enough to rent a room, pay for college, even set aside some savings, now housing is ridiculously expensive and college represents a massive debt burden. It's a lot more difficult to work your way out of poverty than it used to be.