It's always good to hear from the Heritage Foundation.
In 2010 the median household income in the US was $49,445. That's per household, not per capita or per job. So for half of the households (well over half of the people) in the country, socking away $17k every year isn't realistic.
Yes, there are many jobs that pay more than that, but simply instructing someone to get one of them is pretty... elitist. Sidetracking things by pointing out that people are capable of economic success is not very constructive.