In Europe, kollel was for the yechidei segula. Everyone else left yeshiva to get a job. Kollel as it currently exists is a modern phenomenon, although there were many in the time of the gemara who learned full-time in poverty. The modrn kollel system thrived in Israel due to the socialistic tendencies of the government, and it thrived in America due to the tremendous wealth in the community. Both factors are changing. Lifetime kollel needs to be more limited. Goal-oriented kollel (learn for a few years in poverty, then get a job or a shteller) will be the wave of the future.
