[Bourget]

Great response. I think this is really the most important underlying cause.

It's common nowadays to blame it on say increase house prices, and while these are indeed very valid complaints, one shouldn't forget that these increased prices are offset by decreases in other areas. A century back, housing may have been cheap, but it was entirely normal for most of your income to be spent on food, spending whatever you could save on other necessities such as clothing. That did not stop people from working hard.