Education can be really expensive. However, there are many great state schools, and there is also a lot of financial aid. Many people get a great education and

Education can be really expensive. However, there are many great state schools, and there is also a lot of financial aid. Many people get a great education and are not saddled with debt. Housing is impossibly expensive in metro areas where people make a lot of money. The US is a large country and there is a lot of variability to housing costs throughout the US. A single hospital bill could be thousands of dollars or 0 if it's covered by your insurance. If you are really poor then you get insurance from the State. If you have a good job, then you get insurance through your work. It could be or it could be not very much depending on the factors described regarding hospital visits. Unpaid, effectively mandatory overtime applies to salaried people with well paying jobs. It's a bad situation, but if this applies to you, then the other issues aren't as bad. Many poor people work more than one job. Working class people need to get paid more. Maybe the minimum wage will be raised at the Federal level, but probably not. Minimum wage is also location dependent, so it's already higher than $15 in some locales. People with good jobs get PTO. Working class people in bad jobs do not get paid vacation. States provide some benefit for maternal and paternal leave. It's not 100% of your wages though. I don't think Paternal leave is taboo or strange. I don't think that's part of the culture. Maternal leave depends on the State and the company that they work for. If you have a good job, then you will get more Maternal leave. I'm sure there were a lot of rugged individuals in 1930s Poland.