I was raised to believe college was the key to a better life—because it had transformed my father’s life of poverty after the GI Bill. I have two master’s degrees but at 58 finding decent work has been a challenge. I am fortunate my husband still has such a job. The health insurance problem plagues me. I work to pay premiums. The only upside of the gig economy is the ease of finding work—especially online—but that doesn’t mitigate the reality that the quality of jobs keeps plummeting. I am one of the lucky ones, because of what was passed down to me, but what is happening to American workers is a kind of theft from younger generations.