What happened to the middle class path to success?

Back in the old days, the typical American Dream was made up of hard work, time, and determination, which equaled rewards: a car, a house, a family. What made all those rewards possible, or the key to the equation, was hard work. Hard work meant something; it had value; one reaped the benefit of the rewards after the hard work was done.

I know that even back in the day there were still people who never owned a car, maybe didn't have a house, and possibly didn't even create a own family with the person of their dreams. But, sadly I've begun to realize that in today's times, the American dream is more dreamy than it is realistic. It seems to be ten times, if not twenty times less likely now than it was before.