It definitely does. And that's the trap. You come here to make it, but
it costs so much to stay that it eats away at anything you get, so you're
stuck on the treadmill.

Rod Serling talked about that in his script for "The Velvet Alley," where
someone's talking to a TV writer, new in town, and explaining how It All
Works. Paraphrasing: "They pay you astonishing amounts of money for what you
do...then gradually your standard of living goes up, and up, and up...until
finally you HAVE to have that level of income just to get by, day by day...and
then they threaten to take it away unless you behave.
And then, *then* they own you."

jms