there is ALWAYS a choice for peopleA person I know is super smart but has a felony conviction. I've seen him ace tons of interviews but fail background checks repeatedly. If he mentions the felony upfront, he doesn't get interview calls. I'm sure he'd be willing to put up with 50 hour work weeks, if it means he can get a decent job.
There are thousands of skilled people who are on work visas getting exploited by employers and shitty recruiters. It isn't easy for them to change jobs and they can't start a business on work visas, even if they have the skills to do so.
when you aren't willing to roll up your sleeves and do the work.
When we are healthy, young and single, we can spend 70 hour weeks building our own businesses (or go to school while working etc) until we reach a comfortable level. This gets increasingly harder as we age, start a family etc.
Not saying you are wrong, just some counter points ...