They are addicted to consuming. They may be making $200k per year but they spend all the money because they are addictited to consuming, ergo "living payecheck to paycheck"

By design.

People who live paycheck to paycheck are MUCH easier to control.

Low-interest rates for over a decade have made big-ticket purchases on assets including real estate more accessible while driving these asset prices through the roof. Massive mortgage payments or rents, unaffordable rates of health care costs, education loans - overall the liveability in the USA for an average earner is rather low by all counts. There needs to be a hard reset somewhere.