Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sure, but all of those things are considerably better now than at every point in history, the fact you'd write this even ... Do you realize that up until about 2 generations ago that nobody had fulfilling work? That work was just labour? 3 Generations ago you worked on the farm, or in the factory, or keeping the shop for meagre wages. In 1960 only about 8% went to university. In 1900 it was probably only 1%. Literall…
If you live in a city with a large homeless population, I think it would be interesting for you to go and talk with them. I live in San Diego, and I've talked to hundreds of homeless people while doing volunteer work and photography. You would not believe how many people, though they may be mentally ill, are smart, honest, good people, who just got fucked by the system. They're out here scrounging for food and gettin…
While some specific cities may have their heads up their butts with regard to public policy resulting in more visible homeless the living conditions of the "almost homeless" and working poor have very much improved since the early 1970s (as far back as my knowledge goes).
You can say what you want about the blue collar middle class (off-shoring and student debt have hit them hard over the past decades) but things have very much been improving up for the poor as a whole even though some poor people are unlucky enough to live in backwards places where things have gotten worse locally.