If you read the article, she mentions a sentence like this twice, then immediately drops it. By contrast, the responsibility of "society", "government" is given

If you read the article, she mentions a sentence like this twice, then immediately drops it. By contrast, the responsibility of "society", "government" is given pages of text. Clearly it's not the author's intent to accept responsibility. At the end of the article it is pointed out how the reasoning in the group works: "After the food was served, a waiter came by with a stack of to-go boxes, which sat on the edge of the table untouched for a while as everyone cautiously eyed them. The group was reluctant at first, but then Ian said, “The chicken was actually pretty good,” as he scooped it into one of the boxes. Mira shrugged, took a fork, and added, “This is a little tacky, but I’d hate to waste free food,” and the rest of the table followed her lead. Maybe the next generation would do better, but I felt like we were broke and broken. No number of degrees or professional successes would put us back together again. For now, though, we knew where our next meal was coming from." Knowing that making decisions based upon personal status rather than financial sense is what got this group into trouble this sentence is more than a little disheartening.