The automobile has a lot to do with this. Most people take any increase in monthly income as a trigger to make an identical increase in the monthly payments for a higher status car.
Good point. Few people even try to live within their means these days. They might claim they do but the reality is that most people are trying to live up to their ever growing list of wants.
Its a sad comedy watching the local argument over the minimum wage. These people want to raise themselves up at the expense of the restaurant owner and they’re fixated on the things the owner has as proof that the owner is greedy.
What are these "monthly payments" for a car?
Rent to own is no way to go through life (except for the real estate situation where you have to pay rent to the gov't).