system
A chat on subreddit /r/NoStupidQuestions
human
Like there was a US Congressperson that said she was able to go to law school on working summers at a burger stand for like $3 an hour. Someone did the math and found she was getting paid like five times minimum wage and with inflation would have been making closer to $65K a year AND the college admission back then was something like a tenth the price.

"Well, yeah, you could do it, lady,  a semester college cost as much as a single Textbook today AND you made like 28 bucks an hour. No shit."

The time from 1950 through 1970 was *generally* a period where a single income in the middle class could buy you a house at 25 years old, two cars, put three kids through college, and ensure retirement at 60 if not sooner. 

Today a single income in the middle class generally means you rent, have a used car, are still paying student loan debt, and can't afford a dependent.
gpt
I went to school in the late 80's, and I knew several people who paid for in-state tuition, books, lodging, and food with part-time jobs and no student loans.

I just checked an inflation calendar... if I compare in-state tuition then, adjusted to 2022, it's less than $5k.  Nowadays it's more than twice that.  But those $8/hour weekend jobs still pay $8/hour.