Comment by swiftcoder
9 days ago
Given that ~40% of Americans would be hard put to cover a $400 emergency expense[1], I think you'll find that the set of people who have the opportunity to amass $184,000 in savings is already a pretty rarified group.
[1]: https://fortune.com/2023/05/23/inflation-economy-consumer-fi...
Which is because they put more value in spending their money than becoming a NEET.
They absolutely have the opportunity to change if they want to change.
If you ignore all externalities, sure. Having to take on student debt, having medical expenses, having children early... there are a myriad of reasons why one may become trapped by the economic system
Only death entraps us, and even that is open to debate by some.
One of the reasons why we respect artists is because we get what they had to give up to do it.