There is definitely a bias here towards living extremely frugally, foregoing luxury, and schadenfreude towards those who are brought down. Like the crabs-in-the-bucket metaphor used frequently.
I want to live in a country where EVERYONE can aspire to living in a nice house, in a safe neighborhood, send their kids to good schools, take vacations, have a comfortable retirement.
Even though this guy might not "get it," entirely, he's exposing the reality that if HE can't reach those dreams, those lower than him, and their children, don't have a chance in hell.
The American Dream isn't just dead, it's been raped, murdered, and multilated.
The American Dream is no longer easy—it requires a lot of common sense and frugal habits.
It requires deferring instant gratification and out of control materialism.
This is not a hard swallow—anybody can do those things.
Happiness is not a function of how much money you spend on a fancy house or fancy vacation.
Life just does not work like that.