I know things are getting heated in here, so I just want to say that I don't think everyone comparing working conditions to older times is doing it with the intention of being condescending and bootstrappy. I think a lot of people are just trying to provide some alternate perspective to help morale. If we all take a minute to step back and appreciate what we do have, we're more likely to come back refreshed and ready to fight to improve our own situations and those of the people around us. We all have to fight to stay alive and healthy so we can make a difference in our spare time. Voting, volunteering, protesting, etc.
Hopefully this helps keep people from jumping at each others' throats. I know life is hard, and I don't know every individual poster's plights and circumstances. Emotions are going to run high in a thread like this. But perspective is good to help in preventing us from giving up and dying. If we're dead, we can't make a difference for the future generations.
I could be wrong, but I don't think anyone in this thread has said that things DONT need to change. I think we're all on the same side here, just with some of us in more dire straights than others. Don't give up. Try to appreciate what you do have, even if it's a little. Find a purpose to live for beyond work. Fight like hell to make a difference in your life and others.