But the situation is not as bad as you make it out. Most people do have something they can sell (even if they have little or no wealth) - their labor—i.e. they can get a job. In fact, the majority of people (in the US, anyway) get by mostly by their salary or wages—they sell their labor to their employer. So, a person with no wealth today need not be a person with no wealth tomorrow.
When it becomes harder to get jobs, people will just try harder, because the alternative is bad. So employment isn’t a good indicator, it might be stable until a point and then break down completely. A better indicator is how much people have to pay for jobs, and that’s rising fast, as you can see from requirements on college degrees etc.
But the situation is not as bad as you make it out. Most people do have something they can sell (even if they have little or no wealth) - their labor—i.e. they can get a job. In fact, the majority of people (in the US, anyway) get by mostly by their salary or wages—they sell their labor to their employer. So, a person with no wealth today need not be a person with no wealth tomorrow.
When it becomes harder to get jobs, people will just try harder, because the alternative is bad. So employment isn’t a good indicator, it might be stable until a point and then break down completely. A better indicator is how much people have to pay for jobs, and that’s rising fast, as you can see from requirements on college degrees etc.