>> Some of the jobs he can get don’t pay enough to give him the self-respect he feels he needs, and others require him to get along with unpleasant customers an

>> Some of the jobs he can get don’t pay enough to give him the self-respect he feels he needs, and others require him to get along with unpleasant customers and coworkers, and to maintain a submissive attitude toward the boss. Same as it always was. > Or perhaps moving a factory workforce into the service industry has been degrading? (Since of course we shipped the factories overseas.) The sentences literally following this quote have an idea on the question: "It used to be high-status to hold a job and take care of your family. Not so much anymore. Those who sit at or near the apex of the social ladder (who decide what behaviors are prestigious) have decided that family stability is unimportant." As a meta aside, not specifically reacting to you, the amount of people commenting on article they haven't read at all is bothering me more and more.