What's really changing?

I sometimes wonder if the United States is becoming a worse place to be or if i have just reached a time in my life that i am aware of all the detriments we seem to be facing on a day to day basis. It seems like at any moment our lives could shatter around us. I used to think that America was a nation where citizens could achieve anything they wanted if they just put in the necessary effort but since i graduated college and settled into my new-found life i spend time worrying that this may be becoming a less and true less statement as days pass. I seem like everytime i turn around its getting harder... no college loans, no car loans, no jobs, no credit available. nothing is the way it was even 5 years ago... or is it just me waking up to the world?