Much of the country is not that rich at all, especially once you get to central parts of the country where industry has fled leaving people with odd jobs and insufficient healthcare. The opoid crisis centers around parts of America which are the hardest hit financially: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/09/23/health/heroin-opioid-drug-...
Finally, there is also something about expectations. For my generation, we grew up hearing "work hard, study hard, and you will live a good life, own a home, enjoy the life your father and grandfather lived." Except that formula does not work anymore -- industries which worked for our parents got offshored and we're now competing internationally. An entire generation still holds the expectations of an American lifestyle, buying a home with our 8-5 factory job, having barbecues in our backyard, playing "Where the Boys Are" but that expectation is no longer valid for all, leading to unmet psychological contract an entire generation expected to live.
Furthermore, almost a third of Americans have less than 10k in net worth. This is not even enough to survive a year of unemployment without cutting back on essential expenses.
And what's worse, "nearly 1/3rd of Americans" is not a small number- it's 100m people!!!
This is the blessing and curse of capitalism.
You have winners and you have losers. In strong economic times, the rising tides will lift all boats and everybody benefits. When the shit hits the fan, those who are prepared, suffer less. Those with no safety net will suffer more, but there's plenty of government assistance to help those people when they hit hard times.
You can cry however much you want to, but the opportunity is out there. You can take online free courses, you can get scholarships and get your college paid for. You can go to a technical college and be employed in a trade in two years if not sooner. The best thing is that ITS UP TO YOU to make it happen. You can sit around and watch everybody and life pass you by, or you can put in the effort, change things up and find a different route than your parents did to be successful.
Success is out there my friend, but nobody is going to just hand it to you.
There are numbers on this and they don't back up your argument at all. The US has some of worst economic mobility of developed countries [1]. Its almost as bad as the UK which has an archaic class system. You're perpetuating a myth.
Also, this idea that people are "crying" about it is a myth. People are angry.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socioeconomic_mobility_in_the_...
With the change in pay structure, holding back a weeks pay, and the fact that I changed jobs because I wasn't making enough money; I've been unable to buy a temporary policy. Cobra is out of the question at over $2.5k for the month.
Last week we suspected my daughter had an ear infection, which thankfully seems to have cleared up, but it was and is worrying to think that I really have no options if one of my kids gets sick. If I go to the ER, I'm looking at a minimum bill of around $400, any clinic wants payment up front of around $100. My budget is really tight until I get a couple paydays under my belt.