I grew up in multigenerational poverty and, through frugal living and lucky breaks, have dragged myself up to a place where I am not paycheck to paycheck. Most of my peers these days are the folks that received an inheritance that amounted to at least a full ride higher education.
They simply can't understand what it is like to not have that support structure. They still feel like they are “Making their own way” and everyone should be able to do that if they work smart. This has led me to the conclusion that most benefitting from the status quo, no matter how marginally, adopt a sort of apathetic willful ignorance about the existing system.
So, what are you saying to try to convince people for the need of change? My appeals for empathy seem to carry no weight.