>...a modest house that you OWN though Marcia - and it would be nice if more people had such an opportunity.
>
>Owning a home is not a right. I worked hard all of my life, never got into debt, and saved my money. That is why I own my own home. Wasn't it the NINJA (No Income No Job No Assets) loans that caused the great recession? You want to go back to those days?

Yes, earning a living is not a right. It takes effort and talent.

However, one of the yardsticks we use to measure a society is how often people succeed given a level of effort and talent.

I can tell you that every member of my graduating class had several job offers and within ten years their incomes had more than doubled.
Most (except the compulsive ones like me) have settled into comfortable, carefree retirement.

Not so today.
Some of the difference is cultural and that's a good discussion, but a lot of it is due to political changes.