"These kids have the same dreams as all middle-class kids: to go to college, to get white-collar jobs, to own their own home, to have Nikes and name brands,"

Wanting white-collar jobs and their own homes, I understand, but name brands? Well, that's the problem. The whole purpose of name brands are to create artificial scarcity. if the goal is to have a good life, that is definitely achievable, but if the goal is to be better than everyone else, only some will meet that goal.