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All my grandkids are liberal arts majors. They are all working and in school. One still lives with a parent to care for the parent. And he pays $1000 a month rent to his dad. All their friends are working students. IDK where this stuff came from.
Must be from people who catered to and pampered their kids. I do see many parents treating their younger kids like some kind of doll instead of a human being who will need to know how to make their way in the world.
In general, I support the idea of having one's adult children pay rent if they live with you after graduating college. But if your one grandson is taking care of his father, he should either be allowed to live there rent-free, or paid for his job as a caregiver. JMHO.
Why can´t most families live on single income anymore?
Because back when most families lived on a single income, they were in small apartments or 1,300 square foot houses with no air conditioning, a small furnace, and a fireplace. And they either had one simple car or they took buses. And they wore Keds, jeans that would last years, one jacket for winter, hats they knit themselves, Mom made the girls' dresses etc. And the phone was a simple device with a dial that sat in the kitchen or living room. And the fanciest utensils in the house were a toaster, a glass percolator, a hand-cranked meat grinder, hand-cranked pencil sharpener, and maybe a 15" black&white television. And steak was a VERY rare item on the menu, meatloaf was more common, pancakes and oatmeal and homemade bread more usual.
Today people whose Dads did the same work as before and produced the same value, now demand a separate $60/mo phone for each family member above 10 years old, $300 sneakers, boutique jeans chemically treated to look 20 years old that yesteryear's families would have (finally) thrown in the trash, a 2,000+ sf house with air conditioning that costs hundreds to run in the summer, two or three cars with fuel injection, thousands of dollars worth of airbags, beams in the doors, superurethane bumpers, and stereos that would power a rock concert. Some of those features are actually good and increase safety... but they aren't free. Three 56" televisions, $200/mo in cable bills, home wi-fi, enough kitchen appliances to sink a battleship... and a government larger than the entire U.S. Army from WWII. All supposed to be supported by Dad's same level job from 60+ years ago.
Catch my drift here?
The question isn't why we can't get by on one income. The question is how we manage to make do with only two, or more.
Why can´t most families live on single income anymore?
Because back when most families lived on a single income, they were in small apartments or 1,300 square foot houses with no air conditioning, a small furnace, and a fireplace. And they either had one simple car or they took buses. And they wore Keds, jeans that would last years, one jacket for winter, hats they knit themselves, Mom made the girls' dresses etc. And the phone was a simple device with a dial that sat in the kitchen or living room. And the fanciest utensils in the house were a toaster, a glass percolator, a hand-cranked meat grinder, hand-cranked pencil sharpener, and maybe a 15" black&white television. And steak was a VERY rare item on the menu, meatloaf was more common, pancakes and oatmeal and homemade bread more usual.
Today people whose Dads did the same work as before and produced the same value, now demand a separate $60/mo phone for each family member above 10 years old, $300 sneakers, boutique jeans chemically treated to look 20 years old that yesteryear's families would have (finally) thrown in the trash, a 2,000+ sf house with air conditioning that costs hundreds to run in the summer, two or three cars with fuel injection, thousands of dollars worth of airbags, beams in the doors, superurethane bumpers, and stereos that would power a rock concert. Some of those features are actually good and increase safety... but they aren't free. Three 56" televisions, $200/mo in cable bills, home wi-fi, enough kitchen appliances to sink a battleship... and a government larger than the entire U.S. Army from WWII. All supposed to be supported by Dad's same level job from 60+ years ago.
Catch my drift here?
The question isn't why we can't get by on one income. The question is how we manage to make do with only two, or more.
I think all of this is true, but with the added fact that women and minorities were finally allowed into the workforce. Combine that with at least a million new immigrants every year (legally), and jobs moving off-shore, and you have a service economy that is flooded with workers. Wages stagnate while costs go up, and a single income just won't cut it.
It didn't stay that way for very long though did it?
It wasn't long before women were competing with men for the same jobs.
About 30 or so years ( 1960-1990's) since women began seriously competing for jobs that were previously held by men.
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Originally Posted by FatBob96
And with two incomes being the norm, companies scrambled to alter their marketing strategies towards women in an effort to get every dollar they could.
I'm not sure what this means.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FatBob96
And I never said that women entering the workforce was the only reason.
I think all of this is true, but with the added fact that women and minorities were finally allowed into the workforce. Combine that with at least a million new immigrants every year (legally), and jobs moving off-shore, and you have a service economy that is flooded with workers. Wages stagnate while costs go up, and a single income just won't cut it.
Women and minorities were already in the workforce. Just doing the low paying jobs. The number of women entering the workforce increased starting around the 60's. Still in jobs historically occupied by women.
Entry-level jobs aren't meant to support families but rather to provide teens with gas money.
If they want to earn a decent living they should go to college.
...
Or trade school...or get into sales, like car sales, real estate, medical sales...
Min wage jobs are not meant to support families.
Another thing I've noticed is most young people don't want to get an apartment with a roommate.
Why can´t most families live on single income anymore?
Because back when most families lived on a single income, they were in small apartments or 1,300 square foot houses with no air conditioning, a small furnace, and a fireplace. And they either had one simple car or they took buses. And they wore Keds, jeans that would last years, one jacket for winter, hats they knit themselves, Mom made the girls' dresses etc. And the phone was a simple device with a dial that sat in the kitchen or living room. And the fanciest utensils in the house were a toaster, a glass percolator, a hand-cranked meat grinder, hand-cranked pencil sharpener, and maybe a 15" black&white television. And steak was a VERY rare item on the menu, meatloaf was more common, pancakes and oatmeal and homemade bread more usual.
Today people whose Dads did the same work as before and produced the same value, now demand a separate $60/mo phone for each family member above 10 years old, $300 sneakers, boutique jeans chemically treated to look 20 years old that yesteryear's families would have (finally) thrown in the trash, a 2,000+ sf house with air conditioning that costs hundreds to run in the summer, two or three cars with fuel injection, thousands of dollars worth of airbags, beams in the doors, superurethane bumpers, and stereos that would power a rock concert. Some of those features are actually good and increase safety... but they aren't free. Three 56" televisions, $200/mo in cable bills, home wi-fi, enough kitchen appliances to sink a battleship... and a government larger than the entire U.S. Army from WWII. All supposed to be supported by Dad's same level job from 60+ years ago.
Catch my drift here?
The question isn't why we can't get by on one income. The question is how we manage to make do with only two, or more.
In my suburban (an hour from Boston off-peak) town, a small apartment rents for $1500 a month and a 1300 foot house built in the 1950s (and possibly not updated since) sells for $400,000. If you move any closer, those numbers go up exponentially.
If you go back in time, would those houses have cost as much with inflation today? No. And they still don't have air conditioning.
The increased cost of housing can't be offset by cutting phone or internet plans (I wonder what my employer would say if I told them I'm not able to respond to email at home? nothing before they fired me) or trading in appliances that make all of our lives a little easier after commuting 3 hours a day.
I think that is exaggerating a little. Most middle class families had comfy lives for the time period. They didn't need cell phones or internet because it wasn't real then. They did dream of a space age future, this dream wasn't chaotic or degenerate as the reality is turning out to be - it was more Star Trek and less and Porn Hub and gaming addiction. Things are leaning more toward the dystopian sci-fi of that time than their fantasies of a better world for everyone as a result of technological progress. I don't think they foresaw a future where one income households would be so difficult to achieve, things were supposed to get easier with tech.
It does seem like the wealthy, not just the billionaire level wealthy but upper middle class is hogging a lot of resources and pricing everyone else out. I think we are raising nervous, uber competitive kids that have to keep pushing themselves to keep up. Now competing globally to make it even more difficult. Yes they expect luxuries for this hard work, but sometimes this pressure takes its toll on happiness and quality of life. And it affects how our society works, if you are not a winner, you are a loser. Very little middle ground anymore. Scary.
Can you clarify what you mean by this?
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