[stared]

Some jobs are flexible, when you are judged on your current impact, some other - have guild constraints, where it takes time and effort to get into... but also, even with waning skill, once you are entrenched, it's hard to get out.

IMHO the good thing for meritocracy is when there is no shift between skill and position. Eg in academia there is ~10-20 year shift.

[jedrek]

I know couples working retail in small town America who are 8 years into their $45000 mortgages vs my buddy who was paying 60k a year in rent in SF.