I completely relate to this. I was raised in a middle-class family. My parents worked their way through school. Our first homes were in social housing (or co-op

I completely relate to this. I was raised in a middle-class family. My parents worked their way through school. Our first homes were in social housing (or co-ops... I honestly have no idea whether they were publicly funded or not). Then a tiny apartment. Then a house in a tiny town way up north -- the only place they could both find work. It paid off for them. They retired comfortably. But it took a lot of work to get there. I took every advantage for granted and didn't leverage any of it. Didn't go to school, didn't develop my social network. Had kids in my early 20s. By the time I realized I was poor (and broke!), I was way over my head and working near-minimum-wage jobs. It just caught me off guard. But once my kids showed up, I realized I needed to do better and changed things. I'm pushing 40 and have finally reached the point where I've cross the income threshold. I'm still not rich, and I've got money problems like everyone else, but I'm no longer wondering if I can pay my utilities bill. I have a mortgage, not rent. I have a reasonably decent vehicle that I can afford to take to a mechanic twice a year for basic maintenance. And the result is that life is WAY less stressful. I rarely worry about the basic necessities anymore, and instead get to worry about the future, like whether my kids will be able to go to college. But it was a struggle and a half to get to this point. (Even buying a house was only viable because it was cheaper than renting a place big enough for my whole family. It required some financial ninjutsu to pull off.) That small house and a Toyota Corolla? Absolutely freaking outstanding. Now I get to complain about things like "I really don't feel like going to work today" instead of "I really don't have gas money to make it to work today". TL;DR: I experienced both a lower and middle class childhood, then due entirely to my own life choices, experienced both of them all over again. I agree with the author. There really is a threshold, a tipping point, when it comes to income. Below that threshold, it feels like the entire economy is against you. Above that threshold, I wouldn't say the economy is working FOR me, but I at least feel like I'm a part of it.