They're in their thirties, and if they didn't get trained for a job that happens to be in high demand, they're lost and disillusioned about their chances in a city they never imagined leaving

FWIW: at 18 I was satistifed to share a house with five other dudes and eat tuna fish on saltines and maybe scrounge $3 for a cup of beer at a house show / party. Nowadays I buy good food and beer, pay my own health & car insurance, chip away at student loans, handle pet care, utilities etc and know it's worth my while to make enough money to never have to deal with roommate drama again. But no, I don't seem to have much extra money just lying around from month to month.

Life gets more expensive as you get older. No matter what. It's a process of figuring out what's worthwhile to you, personally, then making it happen for yourself. Sorry if that sounds like typical GOP "bootstraps" speak but it's true; I don't judge my friends who are pushing 40 and still working for the same wages I myself made at 18-- and living in a very similar house with five other dudes and a stockpile of Star-Kist. They're smart and relatively well-adjusted, but they seem relatively happy to be where they're at. Surely some would romanticize that kinda situation, too.

So no, the deck isn't stacked that badly against most of us. By and large we have mobility and opportunity smacking us in the face in this country. Maybe it isn't exactly what was promised or how you envisioned it, but it's there, moreso now that we're essentially living in boom times. Embrace change, roll with the punches and don't be afraid to fail. Or don't. But you might someday find yourself more vulnerable than you'd like to be.

tl;dr: one can survive for years on saltines + tuna fish + yellow mustard