[nopardons]

It really all depends upon what exactly you mean by "make it".

Men and boys, with no educations worked in coal mines for extremely low wages. They also worked in abattoirs and steel plants and manufacturing plants.

How far back do you want to go?

Up until very recently,most people didn't have more than one bathroom, and I'm talking about only 50 years ago.They didn't have more than one T.V. set. Kids didn't want 100 dollar(or the equivalent ) sneakers.

For all of the moaning and groaning, on FR, about outsourcing and H1B workers, there ARE plenty of jobs out theres and not low paying ones.

[FITZ]

In this town there are definitely not plenty of jobs --- 14,000 lost their jobs in the 90's, many were women in their 40s and 50s and many have never worked again and those that work now work for minimum wage --- down from that $8 to $10 an hour they once made. The only jobs are in health care and education --- both very government subsidized obviously. Those are the major employment opportunities. Who supports those not working? When only 33% of the population has private healthcare --- as is the case here, who pays the health care costs of the rest?

[FITZ]

Kids didn't want 100 dollar(or the equivalent ) sneakers.

Those $100 sneakers are made in China --- kind of ironic --- back in those days you're talking about the shoes did go for far less and were often made in the USA.