Dating

If you lived where I live, you’d get no dates. The women decide the parameters of the dates they will accept, not the men.

If I get no dates because of parameters that I've chosen, I'm pretty sure I decided just as much as the women. On the other hand, I've never had a woman turn down a date with me. Not that I put much effort into getting dates or even swiping on online dating apps...

I'd also rather be alone than be in a relationship with someone who doesn't add to my life. That is not exclusive to women. The only people who don't share that opinion are the people with no sense of self-worth. The USA might be culturally obsessed with money (more than the rest of the world), but there are things worth more in life than having a large bank account. I think you'll find that your economic lens on dating is not giving the whole picture and that you're devaluing your own worth. The women who do want men who make way more than them are hypercapitalists and the state of the world right now is exactly why they're not worth caring about.

and dating has ALWAYS been about this. traditional gender roles still dominate heterosexual dating, as much as people like to claim and believe they do not. people love to talk about love, but the funny thing is love tends to go away when the money does…

Maybe in the USA, but certainly not in the world as a whole. I don't know of any of my friends or family in relationships right now where only the woman cooks and cleans and the man pays for everything. Everyone splits chores, work their jobs, and take each other out on dates. Not that I'm a fan of marriage, but it's not love if a little of the worse of "for better or for worse" (financial hardship) is all it takes to break it. But if the primary reason to be together is financial, as you suggest, then that would explain a lot as to why those relationships would fail. Better to just avoid anyone who might be put off by a bit of financial turmoil instead of wasting time with them.