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I don’t know why people are sending their children to expensive universities they can’t afford.
A flagship in-state public university usually costs much less then a private university or an out of state university. You have to be smart about these things or otherwise you end up spending a whole lot of money for no reason.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Not only are highly ranked public/state U's cheaper, but as they're larger than small private liberal arts colleges, they have a MUCH larger alumni network, which makes a HUGE difference in hiring opportunities.
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.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dman72
Not reading anyone posts that conflict with your narrative, apparently.
TRANSLATION: I can't refute what you said, but I hate it anyway. So I'll ignore it and try to bash you for not reading 120-plus posts before typing one of your own, as if that mattered, and hope nobody notices you are right.
Because they are breeding before they can afford to feed them.
40 years ago people got married out of high school and had 2 kids by 20 or 21. Our economy has changed, offshoring and bad trade deals have decreased jobs making it harder to earn a living. Also millennials demand a life filled with expensive tech and the modern economy dictates they get college degrees that cost them 100k. There is a lot wrong with today’s economy and society.
Will you pay me if your guarantee fails? I live in a small coastal town. I don't drive far enough on an annual basis to recoup the membership fee in savings on gas.
Then that's on you. Your loss on not claiming your gas and chicken benefits. There's someone else who's probably more than made up their fees in rebates, discounts, and chicken.
TRANSLATION: I can't refute what you said, but I hate it anyway. So I'll ignore it and try to bash you for not reading 120-plus posts before typing one of your own, as if that mattered, and hope nobody notices you are right.
I already refuted it..with actual numbers.
Back when most people lived on a single income was through the 1980's, not the friggin 20's.
Then that's on you. Your loss on not claiming your gas and chicken benefits. There's someone else who's probably more than made up their fees in rebates, discounts, and chicken.
I guess the self proclaimed financial genius ain't one.
Ah, the baby boomer myth that $500 flat screen TVs and cell phones are the real reasons. No matter how many statistics and numbers you put in front of these people, they'll still just come back with the same worthless anecdotal nonsense.
Look at a sears catalog from 1980 and see how expensive electronics were relative to incomes. They were MUCH more expensive relative to incomes.
What was much less expensive was : housing, health care, education. Things that are actually important.
But, go back to your "get off my lawn" ism.
How much they cost may have changed but so has how they are thought of and consumed.
Most electronics beyond a a TV and a land line phone were considered luxury items back then....not necessities.
People bought fewer of them and used them much longer than they do now.
A typical wall mount phone lasted decades.....
Now everyone in the family has to have their own smart phone that needs to be upgraded every two years.
I had a tube TV from the late 70's last well into the 90's.
Most people only had one, maybe two TV's in their house.
Three or four flat screen TV's per house is pretty common these days and they only last about five years before they break or are obsolete.
Laptops.....same story.
Gaming systems.....same story.
Cable/internet bills are way up to ridiculous levels.
Electronics aren't the only factor of course, but the addiction to and reliance on technology these days definitely puts a big dent in a part of the family budget that didn't even used to exist.
Not to the "get off my lawn" Rush Limbaugh fan base. A $100 a month cell phone is the reason, not $400 a month health care, $1000 a month rent or mortgage, $20K/year state school college tuition.
It's about cell phones and TVs in fossilized angry right wing baby boomer la la land. . these people like to use their parents depression era rhetoric when they grew up during the greatest period of prosperity in the most prosperous place in history.
-Gen Xer in top 5%
Careful......you realize the millennials see us Gen Xrs as being part of the “get off my lawn” crowd too don’t you? Angry millennials often use the label baby boomers and Gen Xrs in the same sentence, usually one where we are lumped together as “the older folks” they resent. We are not their friends....remember that.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Not only are highly ranked public/state U's cheaper, but as they're larger than small private liberal arts colleges, they have a MUCH larger alumni network, which makes a HUGE difference in hiring opportunities.
Ding ding: those schools have gone up disproportionately in cost relative to incomes as well.
Getting it yet? Even trying to think outside your little box yet? Just for a second?
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. these people like to use their parents depression era rhetoric when they grew up during the greatest period of prosperity in the most prosperous place in history. 
