As a real estate appraiser, about 90% of the homes I look at are homes that are realistically beyond the financial capability of the homeowner. I've seen people making 60k a year living in 200k homes. People making 30k driving suburbans.
People look to material things for happiness. Now, a LARGE part of America is addicted to prescription drugs. The docs they go to know this, and just supply them with enough to get by, in return for (what else) money. You take all these people that live productive lives as of now, and insert into the equation legalized cocain, heroine, ect..... Well, you will have one screwed society. We