The High Price of Success

“the American middle class didn’t die. It got richer—and felt poorer” Fortune April 12, 2026

“The life you thought you’d paid for keeps getting more expensive…… This is not an illusion. It is, economists are increasingly arguing, a structural feature of the new American economy — one that a sweeping recent report from the American Enterprise Institute attempted to describe, but only partially explained. Because the real story isn’t just about income brackets and inflation adjustments. It’s about a nation that has grown so wealthy, so fast, that it has lost the ability to recognize its own prosperity — and about a media environment that has systematically replaced the old, grounded benchmarks of success with an endless, algorithmically curated window into the lives of the ultrarich……”

“For the first time in American history, they argued, more families sit above the core middle class threshold than below it. The finding directly challenges decades of political rhetoric, from both parties, that has treated a “hollowing out” of the middle class as settled fact.”

Americans may expect that as this country gets richer, personal income should be increasing. However, that may not be the case in the early part of a career.

Is the country getting richer? This shows up in daily life in subtle ways. Try to book a flight during any holiday, Spring Break or over the Summer holidays. In fact US air travel is up, period. “The United States continues to dominate as the world’s largest aviation market, with air travel reaching unprecedented levels in 2024 and 2025…. with passenger numbers surpassing pre-pandemic levels. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screened record-breaking numbers of travelers throughout 2025, while airports across the nation handled 876 million passengers in 2024 according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).”

Food prices are higher. Reasons include higher demand and disease. In 2024 about 11% of the US chicken population was exterminated to deal with Avian Flu. Sources of animal protein include eggs, meat and fish. Eggs are a relatively inexpensive source of protein and are “sticky”; demand remains high no matter the price. Wages are also up, as is the price of fertilizer and feed. Inflation drove up prices and some producers benefitted.

The USDA has a “Food Availability (Per Capita) Data System”. About 13.7% of Americans reportedly live in “food disadvantaged households”. In 2025 the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) helped about 16 million children each month — about 1 in 5 U.S. children. According to the USDA 86.3% of households are “food secure” while 5.4% have “very low” food security. According to Statistica and USDA, food insecurity in households with children peaked in 2009. “The negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic as well as the inflation crisis on food security still stayed behind those of the Great Depression between 2008 and 2011.”

Wealth influences home prices. According to the US Congressional Research Service, 2022 Home Price “Contributing Factors: There are several potential factors contributing to the rise in home prices, both over the past decade and since the start of the pandemic. But at the heart of the rise in home prices is the interaction between supply and demand: There are more people who want to buy homes than there are homes for sale. As a result, prices have increased.

We are told that homes are unaffordable, yet demand is high. In the early 1980s, the price of a home spiked at $600 thousand for the boomers. For Millennials, the prices spiked in 2024 at about $425 thousand. This was the Median price of a new home in 2025 dollars, adjusted for changes in affordability based on median household income and mortgage rates, per the WSJ.

Construction costs did spike with the Covid pandemic, and the producer price index for construction increased from about 160% to 225%. Today “The U.S. engineering and construction (E&C) industry is entering 2026 facing an acute labor crisis—one that threatens project delivery, cost efficiency, and long-term growth unless new workforce models are adopted……According to Deloitte’s 2026 Engineering and Construction Industry Outlook, the sector will need 499,000 new workers in 2026, up from 439,000 in 2025, to keep up with demand, underscoring how persistent and intensifying labor shortages have become.” 41 % of the construction workforce is expected to retire by 2031 while only 10 % of current workers are under the age of 25. This imbalance signals a critical shortfall of younger entrants into an industry where only 7 % of potential job seekers consider construction careers—an alarmingly low figure that poses long-term workforce sustainability challenges.

The US has imported millions of adults, and women in the US increasingly prefer a career over having a family. Higher population numbers and those eligible for the work force coupled with higher education does not apparently translate into an effective work force. Obviously, we’re doing it wrong.

There has been an abundance of articles about a lack of financial preparedness for retirement, yet retirement savings are improving. “According to the latest Fidelity Investments® retirement analysis, average 401(k) and 403(b) account balances continue to trend upward, with 401(k) balances up more than 11% and 403(b) balances up 13% over Q4 2024 – the third straight year of double-digit annual balance increases. The average IRA balance increased 7% over last year.” According to Fidelity, since Q4 2015 IRAs are up 51%, 401(k)s are up 66% and 403(b)s are up 89%. “Gen X workers maintained a total 401(k) savings rate above the suggested 15%, which is promising as this generation approaches retirement age. Gen Z workers continue to leverage target date funds; additionally, more than 13% of Gen Z workers increased their contribution rate in Q4 2025.”

It has been reported that Gen Z workers prefer several part-time jobs. Gig economy jobs are short-term, flexible work opportunities where individuals are paid per task or project rather than as full-time employees. A problem with this approach is that free lancers usually don’t get the benefit of a 401(k) and are entirely responsible for their savings rate. Keep this in mind when we read about Gen Z savings rates. This is a choice, however.

Success may also be responsible in part for the high cost of a college education. Since 1975, the cumulative change of college tuition and fees has increased 1,500%. This according to the consumer price index. (Sources: WSJ reporting; Labor Department (categories); Current Population Survey via IPUMS/University of Minnesota (income)).

College demand has only recently begun to decrease as we begin to question the value of a 4-year university education. “College tuition costs are high due to a combination of reduced public funding, administrative expansion, rising faculty salaries, increased student services, and strategic pricing by universities.” Let’s not ignore the cost of paying high credit hour fees for remedial English and Mathematics (arithmetic) classes.

It has been reported that one-third of all first- and second-year bachelor’s degree students—29 percent of those at public 4-year institutions and 41 percent of those at public 2-year institutions—reported having ever taken remedial courses… Remedial course taking rates could be higher if estimates were based on transcript data or if colleges made remedial education mandatory for all students assessed as academically underprepared for college-level work. – National Center for Education Statistics

In a recent Atlantic article “Five years ago, about 30 incoming freshmen at UC San Diego arrived with math skills below high-school level. Now, according to a recent report from UC San Diego faculty and administrators, that number is more than 900—and most of those students don’t fully meet middle-school math standards. Many students struggle with fractions and simple algebra problems. Last year, the university, which admits fewer than 30 percent of undergraduate applicants, launched a remedial-math course that focuses entirely on concepts taught in elementary and middle school. (According to the report, more than 60 percent of students who took the previous version of the course couldn’t divide a fraction by two.) One of the course’s tutors noted that students faced more issues with “logical thinking” than with math facts per se. They didn’t know how to begin solving word problems.”

The rise of AI will certainly have a profound impact on those with little marketable skills, or a poor education. After climbing steadily from 2000 to 2017, the share of U.S. young adults living with their parents has fallen somewhat in recent years. According to Pew Research the share of young adults living in a parent’s home is below its pre-pandemic peak.

“In 2023, 18% of adults ages 25 to 34 were living in a parent’s home. And young men were more likely than young women to live at home (20% vs. 15%)….A majority of young adults living with a parent say the arrangement is good for their finances, but they’re less enthusiastic about its impact on their social life…..The share of 25- to 34-year-olds is 3 to 33%.” As of 2023 five of the highest US metropolitan areas with this demographic living at home occurred in California. These were 30% or higher.

While it can be argued that the US is divided among “the haves” and “have nots” It would seem from recent statistics that overall, the middle class and the rich are doing very well.

Poor education, the lack of needed workers and work ethic will probably break the US. For Example, Lewis and Clark University in Portland OR was named by Princeton University Review “Best West” list of schools they consider academically outstanding and well worth considering, this according to L&C. It has been reported that the college is hosting Antifa terrorism and radicalization training at a symposium on April 13-15. Topics are many, but include “What place does violent direct action have in social justice organizing?” Attendees are instructed to wear a mask to this “5th Annual Transformative Action and Abolition Symposium”.

I’m not sure how this prepares the student for a normal life which contributes to society.

I realize that we are free to choose. Choose an education, choose a career, choose to marry and have a family, or not. But with all of these choices come responsibilities and success is never guaranteed. Anyone in the middle class who feels underprivileged has probably succumbed to a desire to live like the ultrarich and may be bitter about it. Good luck with that!

There is an ongoing discussion in society about how things are different today. For example, the WSJ published a personal finance article which attempted to answer the question “Did Millennials or Boomers Have It Harder?” An earlier article in April 2024 was titled “The Dramatic Turnaround in Millennials’ Finances – Soaring home prices and smart investments have helped boost a generation once considered perpetually behind”.

According to the WSJ “Millennials’ median incomes at these ages [25-34 and 35-44] were roughly on par with Boomers’, and gains over the past decade put millennials in a better position than many recognize.”