It was, but the pyramid has flattened.
There always was a scholar class supported by the rest, but over time the membership in that class seems to have expanded to embrace a larger and larger portion of the population.
It wouldn’t be so bad if it were that way—where you have a number of bright fellows who become Torah bokhers and the community supports them because later on they will be a religious asset to the community—but everyone being a bokher boy forget about it —totally meshuge!