Avram: Your reading of my post was that the Tana in the Mishna “made up” the 18 yo age for kiddushin w/o any basis. Not what I said. There had to be some rationale for 18yo (versus 17 yo or 19 yo)……it is an age level where he believed that a young man was READY to assume the responsibilities for marriage and presumably, his conclusion was informed by his own experience, based on what he knew at the time. If the age was simply a function of the earliest age when a young man could produce children, the mishna would have said 14 yo.
As to your belief that one should marry w/o regard to their ability to support themselves, some of us disagree. If they have parents who can readily support them, fine. If not, they have some responsibility to accrue the resources w/o forcing their parents to beg for money. Its within their ability to work and obtain those funds on their own. If they choose not to, thats their decision. My reference to W-2s did not establish a wealth test for marriage. If you intention is to have children asap, then its also your responsibility to be able to provide for their medical care, food, housing etc. (or should the parents go out and beg for that money too after they’ve finished paying off the caterer).