What you're saying isn't really far of from the truth (except economic hardship is real). My grandmother's wish for a man she would marry (after my grandfather passed away) was a man who can make a horse dance (we're Cuban), and she eventually did marry again. Today everybody wants everything to be perfect. No wonder, people are bombarded with perfect A, B and C at all times.
What about we simply stop importing cheap things from China? Surely all Americans can't just "learn to code", so would it hurt with some factories building things in America? Is a bit of protectionism that bad?