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Because families spend way more than they need to.
Two car payments, $200 cable, internet bills, every family member with a smart phone (and not just any smartphone), eating out daily, overspending on xmas gifts, etc.
When I was growing up in the 1970's we had a house phone, rabbit ear TV, we ate out once a week, usually Saturday night and going out to eat was a big deal. My parents house was in a good part of California cost $32k. My dad worked and mom was a stay at home mom. Life was good.
Ok and how feasible is it to live without a two car, phone and internet family? I'll give you that cable/satellite TV is not necessary same as eating out, holiday spending too, but the rest is needed today. Internet you don't need the full on high speed but you might have work email you from time to time. Cell phone is the landline of today. Most people who have landline today have it because of cable and internet bundles. Most couples don't work the same job location, my parents barely do now. Took them being married 35 some years. So yeah, two cars isn't a waste, it is a need.
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.
This question is not specific to the US, but if capitalism brings so much wealth (and it does) why can´t families survive on a single income anymore like in the past when usually only men worked and women were not in the workforce?
Why can't families survive on a single income? One Word: Housing
New home sizes have doubled since 1960.
Year Ave New Home Size
1920: 1,048 square feet
1930: 1,129
1940: 1,177
1950: 983
1960: 1,289
1970: 1,500
1980: 1,740
1990: 2,080
2000: 2,266
2010: 2,392
2014: 2,657
It's not about who brings money to family. The fact is that a woman, just like a man, wants to realize her professional skills. It is important for her to be recognized not only as a mother but also as a scientist, a businesswoman.
A bunch of that money is due to the payroll tax for medicare. Welfare, which most people are talking about when they say "entitlement" program provides recipients less than they received before welfare reform became law in 1996. I've never had local taxes taken out of my paycheck, and state taxes vary according to which state you live in.
The great city of Detroit will take 3% of your income for the privilege of working in the city.
Prior to 1965, Michigan did not have a state income tax.
One reason that hasn't been talked about much in this thread is how social security is basically a ponzi scheme, even some of the boomers can't rely on this as a valid retirement income. Young people have to stick money away because they have literally no safety nets to cover their ass later. In 50 years social security checks won't even cover a weeks worth of groceries for one person. Indeed, social security is one of the biggest scams and only burdens our future generations because it doesn't keep up with inflation.
That's true. We reached the tipping point several years ago. Most retirees now LOSE money on Social Security. They'll get less in SS benefits than they paid in SS tax for decades.
The only people who benefited/still benefit from the SS scam were the recipients in the early years of the program, and those who've earned low incomes throughout their entire working years.
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Woman needs self-realization
I am vested after 10 years and I only work in a warehouse.
