For example, I live in Romania. The net minimum wage here is around 2700 lei, and many jobs (especially entry-level ones) pay that amount or close to it. The cheapest rent in the city is about 1500 lei per month. You literally can’t survive on the remaining 1200 lei. Sex workers are judged harshly, but for me it’s the only job that allows me to live comfortably while also having time to focus on university, especially since my parents can’t support me financially because they are poor themselves.
Perhaps it’s more complex than a single reason but I believe all scenarios would most likely fall into the bucket of “things were that easy for them and they lack the critical thought to realize that it’s not that easy for everyone else”.
Boomers were buying houses and cars with only one person working, retiring at a decent age and living on mostly social security.
Generational wealth has ensured that their offspring would never have to struggle.
Some settled into a job that truly does pay for all their necessities.
etc., ad nauseum.
Basically, it’s a throwaway statement and I don’t think anyone should lose any sleep feeling like they need to further discuss it with them or defend themselves. They are clearly incapable of stepping outside of their knee-jerk assumptions to find out if they’re accurate or not.
Quite remarkably, I’ve never been told this by anyone who works really hard for next to no money. I’m from a generation where we used to be paid well for what we did. That is no longer the case.
It’s the assumption that what works for me will work for you. Situations change. Markets change. Skill relevancy changes (ask IT workers).
As for university in Romania, I can’t speak to that. What I can say about it in the US is:
“Go to college and get a good job.” sounds great until you go to an elite school for a Sociology degree. Oh, you’ve got a law degree? The firm expects you to work pro-bono to establish yourself. Work for little pay while establishing yourself while paying off student debt.
and not just students at elite schools.
https://fortune.com/2026/04/03/experience-creep-jobs-ai-entry-level/
Bottom line: have a couple of career paths/options.
No it’s not that easy. You have to work, balance spending, and save. Then work your way into or get educated for a better paying job. Rinse and repeat.
No shame or insult intended but sex worker is never a permanent job and comes with a stigma no matter where you live. You said focus on university but the sex worker stigma never really comes off, you will need to have a plan to separate yourself and create a barrier to show your next employer that you are not just a sex worker. I’m not sure if sex worker is legal in Romania but I don’t think that it’s something you would want to proudly display on a resume anywhere in the world.
Did you know that you can just put “college student” on your resume instead of “sex worker”?
How did you pay for “college student” and what work history do you have? Then the lies start, so it’s better to have a plan than to plan to lie.
Welcome to adulthood in crisis capitalism
“If hard work makes you rich show me a wealthy donkey”
Your options are a) find a better job somehow, b) learn to save really well, or c) work for yourself. I chose C.
Because they’re probably doing ok, and they don’t want to think about how much is out of their control, and how easily they could be in the same situation.
The idea that success is just down to hard work is comforting, because they think “if I just keep working hard then I’ll be ok”. They don’t have to come to terms with it being taken away. It also lets them not feel any guilt or have to spend time thinking about the problems of others.
The just-world fallacy - the belief that the world is fundamentally fair and people deserve their circumstances. People who lucked out in life tend to believe this for the reasons you said.
:spits while grumbling like a Gunsmoke extra:
Survivorship bias. Right-wing propaganda. These people, they’re not deep thinkers.
I can’t speak for Romania specifically but I’m sure it’s like anywhere and especially America – there is no such thing as a merit-based society / meritocracy, flaws with that alone aside.
Protestant work ethic is deeply ingrained in most western cultures
It is old narrative that worked only when you truly had opportunities to earn more money by working harder.
a lot of this is brainwashing by the rich and powerful. they need the poor motivated and working to make the rich even richer. paying the workers scraps and telling them to work hard is more profitable than paying them a fair wage.
when paid properly the workers would be happier and more productive. but that’s still less profitable for the ones at the top
