Torah=necessity.
Kollel is a form of Torah. There are many other forms of Torah. There are also multiple forms of kollel. In Europe, the big gedolim who sat and learned were supported by their wife. Was their learning less because they weren’t supported by a father-in-law? The tannaim and amoraim who worked and learned are still quoted in the gemara despite the fact that they worked for a living. Additioanlly, the Yeshiva knesses yisroel (later to become “Slabodka” was started as a kollel, but became a yeshiva when they realized they could pay for 4 bachurim for the price of 1 kollel yungerman. Finally, the Chazon Ish was willing to lose the draft deferment for Yeshiva students to keep the sheirut le’umi law from passing. As he said, “Torah can survive without yeshivas, but yeshivas can’t survive without Torah”. and if that’s what he said about yeshivas, kolellim would go double. I’m not saying kollel isn’t important. It’s very important. But the days of the wife sitting at home and the in-laws paying the bills are gone. Kollel will go back to being done the way it was meant to be- pas bemelech tochal. The in-laws just don’t have the cash anymore. I work for a tzedakah, and I can tell you that the free-flowing cash just doesn’t exist anymore. The community will have to triage its financial tzedakah priorities, and kollel has to come on bottom of aniyey ircha (10% unemployement in many communities R”L), yeshiva ketanas, mesivtas, and yeshivos gedolos.