You should read the book itself, it's not long, but the premise of the book is basically that most wealthy people got wealthy the same way: 1. Making a through, detailed plan on how they will get rich. 2. Doggedly and relentlessly following that plan with incredible perseverance and not giving up.
It's simple. but if you think about it, it could change your life.
Personally, I don't feel bad for these people at all. It's not the economy, it's mindset. Some people have an entrepreneur mentality, and some people have a victim mentality. If I sat around all day drinking beer and buying lottery tickets, I would probably be in the same place he is. Instead, I'm going to spend the next 12 hours setting up advertising campaigns with the expectation that 90% of them will fail. I will continue working until I hit that 10% that will succeed, which enables me to live comfortably and earn more than I could at a day job running my own business.
My point is that the bad economy often makes an all to convenient scapegoat for some people. Living paycheck to paycheck is not a good financial strategy regardless of economy.