For generations, the formula for getting ahead in America seemed straightforward: Go to college, work hard, save your money, buy a home and climb the economic ladder.
Today, that formula increasingly depends on something many Americans can’t control: whether their family has the financial means to help along the way. Without that support, many Americans face mounting debt and an increasingly difficult – if not impossible – path to homeownership and wealth accumulation.
Prices across the board have gone up, wages have not. People keep thinking they’ll climb the ladder and in reality, any raises they get are lucky to keep up with inflation.