Stagnant median household income in the US is largely a myth. It hasn't increased as fast as it probably should have (54k in inflation adjusted 2019 Dollars in

Stagnant median household income in the US is largely a myth. It hasn't increased as fast as it probably should have (54k in inflation adjusted 2019 Dollars in 1984? -> 69k in 2019), but it has gone up a fair amount. Expenses have increased, but the bulk of the impact is on higher income households. If you're lower middle class or middle class and stick with CC -> state college, your healthcare insurance premiums are capped by law and college is still comparably expensive, but certainly not the debt trap it's made out to be. What has changed is how much easier it is to make stupid financial decisions. You didn't have access to easy debt in the 60s and 70s. This is a structural issue, but it's also a behavioural issue. If you make the right choices, you still can absolutely succeed financially.