I can think of no rational reading of this article that could bring you to such a summary. The problem is not that they aren't destroyed by the wider social or

I can think of no rational reading of this article that could bring you to such a summary. The problem is not that they aren't destroyed by the wider social or economic instability that destroys the lower class. It's that they are cutting rungs off of the socioeconomic ladder by the policies that they support. Ironically, your response is addressed in the body of the article. In part what we have here is a listening problem. Americans have trouble telling the difference between a social critique and a personal insult. Thus, a writer points to a broad social problem with complex origins, and the reader responds with, “What, you want to punish me for my success?”