My uncle in Florida committed suicide at a low point in the family finances. He left my aunt and their son to grieve and deal with a horrible financial mess. My aunt lived another 30 years in poverty. And my first cousin married several times, and became a right-wing law enforcement officer. The aunt (my mom's sister) took it well and never complained. Although her life was truly awful, she loved her husband to the day she died in 1983. She was born in 1899. So had seen many things, including the depression.
As to "the most selfish people on the planet," I do not agree at all.