Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I understand your point and fundamentally agree but I would argue that when there were more one earner households, the culture of business was different and companies did not treat their workers like cattle, pensions were common, and layoffs were not the first line of action.
Here we go again with the rose colored view of the past. Corporations treated people like cattle back then. They just didn't treat white men like cattle (at least not as much as they do now). Women and minorities were a different matter, entirely.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AnalyzeThis
There are many women who would like NOT to work (myself not included because I enjoy working) but fear that moving to a one earner household would be extremely risky for financial longevity, and I tend to agree. Just look at how far America has not progressed relative to other industrialized nations when it comes to worker rights.
Their fears may or may not be justified. In families with children where both parents are working full time, the divorce rate is actually higher....so one set of risks has to be balanced against the other.
It started late 60s, early 70s with women working full time. In the 70s all you heard about was inflation, inflation, inflation. Things did become more expensive -- because the two income families could afford them. That forced most families to become double income whether they wanted to or not.
My one bedroom apartment in 1970 cost $180 a month! A one bedroom apartment now costs over $1000 a month. If you want to live in a city that'll be $1500-$2000 and up a month. Look at the size of cereal boxes and cracker boxes in the stores and you'll notice the boxes are smaller but the prices are higher.
Can you remember when a chocolate bar was regular size compared to the dinky ones now? They think we don't notice.
I bought a brand new car for $2000 in 1973. My house cost $28,000. Those prices are a joke today and salaries haven't gone up enough to compensate for the big price increases. We want to live like people did back then, with a new car, a decent house, good food but you need two very well paid full time workers to do it. (I'm not talking about the over consumers, just the ordinary people who are satisfied with a modest home and a small car--it used to be easy, not so any more.)
I rarely agree with Oaktonite....but I guess miracles can happen
The reason you so rarely agree with Oaktonite is that you are so often wrong. Speaking of which, what were the sources of claims such as that people didn't eat out so often a generation ago. Or that most of the extra income earned by two-income families goes to child care or to over-indulgence in obesity-causing foods? And how are savings rates linked to nonmarital birth and divorce rates that spposedly do so much damage to the middle class? I would suspect that these claims are values-based nonsense, not fact-based observations. But do set the record straight if you can.
Interesting chart about the cost of a single can of Campbells soup over the years. Most shocking is the rapid rise in the past few years. Now multiply this scenario on all the items in your grocery cart. Add to that fact that smaller quantities of products are being packaged in the same sized containers as we are used to seeing (and they hope we don't look at the weight). Small wonder the dollar isn't going as far when it comes to our grocery bill.
It started late 60s, early 70s with women working full time. In the 70s all you heard about was inflation, inflation, inflation. Things did become more expensive -- because the two income families could afford them. That forced most families to become double income whether they wanted to or not.
LOL! The inflation of the 1970's and early 1980's was principally the result of two oil crises (1973-74, 1979-80), not of women entering the workforce.
Oh, of course. That explains everything. It all makes sense now
Good. You realize of course that the nonmarital birth rate among careless and impetuous teenagers has been sharply declining, while the rates for mature, sensible women aged 30-39 have been markedly increasing? If someone suggested that this as a reflection of people who don't really give two hoots about the institution of marriage deciding to have kids while they still can, what would your reaction be?
You realize further that nonmarital birth rates are strongly correlated with general economic conditions and that post-2000 declines in economic welfare would have portended increases in nonmarital birth rates, rates that had held essentially flat across the mid and late 1990's?
Interesting chart about the cost of a single can of Campbells soup over the years. Most shocking is the rapid rise in the past few years. Now multiply this scenario on all the items in your grocery cart. Add to that fact that smaller quantities of products are being packaged in the same sized containers as we are used to seeing (and they hope we don't look at the weight). Small wonder the dollar isn't going as far when it comes to our grocery bill.
Fun to exchange grocery gossip, but actual prices for food have increased by less than 10% over the past five years.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
