Here in the UK it is more and more common to equate earned income and wealth/richness. But it has rarely been less true: a combination of income taxes, student loans, other work-associated costs and housing costs for people that don't own outright mean that you can be on a very high gross income and have little to no disposable income or safety cushion. Meanwhile we have pensioners complaining they only get 12k a year when all their housing, property taxes, travel, heating and other costs are taken care of and that's basically £1000 a month for groceries and fun-money...