Hey, my family used to own land on both sides of the GW bridge. My Aunt was hit by a car, and my Grandfather mortgaged the properties to pay for two of the best NYC surgeons to cut short their vacation and operate on her. Then the depression hit, and he lost everything, but my Aunt, who they said would never walk again, walked till she died at 93. IMO, my Grandfather did the right thing.
One of my ancestors is buried in Trinity Cemetery, and you really had to be someone to be in there.
But hey, I grew up Middle Class because my parents worked their fingers to the bone, and went 20 years w/o a vacation. That kind of work ethic does not seem to exist any more.