Actually, it is a matter of social relations, or social safety net to be more precise. You can have all the goodies you want and no social safety net -and your cushiness is but an illusion. You can have hardly a thing but a well developed social safety network - and you can be quite "cushy."
South Africa is a good example. I was surprised to see that unlike in, say, Baltimore or NYC, the only panhandlers in Jo'burg or Pretoria are whites. The reason for that is that while under the apartheid regime whites enjoyed a privileged life style, complete with a generous public welfare system, blacks got nothing and had to rely on extended social networks for a support. After the end of the apartheid, the bottom of the white-only welfare system fell out, and many whites found themselves in a situation similar to that of many blacks, with one big difference - they got no social support networks. As a result, they turned into panhandling while blacks could still make it.
Another problem with "cushiness" is not whether one can make it, but whether one can make it at a level acceptable to its reference group. When I gave up my government job and went back to school, my income fell quite dramatically, but I was able to make it. However, I had to give up middle class status symbols, such as homeownership, new car, and shopping sprees. I was perfectly happy with that choice, as I was quite able to adjust without sacrificing my quality of life. But I know a lot of people who would work themselves to death before giving up the usual perks of the middle class life style.
Again, it is not the matter of material comfort but rather social status - people can give up conveniences but find it much harder to lose their social status and position among their peers.
Wojtek