It's been like this for a long time. When I worked there 20 years ago I used to chat with members of the staff, kitchen, cleaners, admin, at the place I worked because we caught the same bus while the earning-the-company-income employees all drove there, and was pretty shocked to discover that many of them seemed to be living on the edge of homelessness. I once paid one of the kitchen guys bus fare for him because he didn't have any money left, and it was a long walk home. Any unexpected event would have left them unable to pay the rent or for food, it was quite a shock in the richest country in the world.

I grew up in China, lived here for more than twenty years. I've never heard of such a thing: unemployment means a high probability of being homeless, and then losing one's life within three to five years. It's truly shocking.

I have some people in my neighborhood who have been Full-time preparation for the exam to work as civil servants for many years, and some people have simply been living at home without working, relying on their parents' support. However, I have never heard of anyone being frozen or starved to death, nor have I ever seen anyone who has been addicted to drugs.