However old or young people are, there will always be inequalities in ability to cope with an economic crisis, based on many different things.
Where one lives, rural or urban, makes a big difference in the chances of taking on extra jobs, because travel to where those jobs are is likely to be costly, unreliable, expensive, or quite simply impossible.
Family situation. Some people have readily available help available for free childminding. Others have none, so could not possibly take on a second job, even if one was available.
Some adult children get frequent handouts from parents when needed - we read a lot of that here on Gransnet, with lots of grandparents regularly buying things like school uniform and shoes for their grandchildren, even in 'normal' times. Others have nothing of the sort.
Health and fitness. Some are healthy and full of energy, even in retirement. Others are not, whatever their age, and could not possibly work longer hours than they already do.
Some of us are born with a 'careful' nature and can scrape by well on very little (but still can't magic up enough to live if 'very little' ceases to cover the most basic, essential outgoings). Others are not born that way. They are more likely to take risks with money. I'm certainly not knocking them, because they are probably the ones who throughout history have driven us forward, creating jobs and contributing most to a country's wealth in normal times, through risking what they have to start businesses or other new ventures in ways that we careful folk might never dare to do!
The point is, we are all different and our circumstances are all different, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution to coping when things get tough. It's unrealistic to think that there is, and to assume that everyone can/should do what comes so easily to us personally.
