April 28, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008My Parents Managed to Raise Two Kids on One Salary. That's Impossible Today -- What Happened?
the article brings up three main points:
- Problem 1: Men’s earnings
- Problem 2 and Good Development 1: Women’s increased presence in the paid labor market
- Problem 3: Faster price growth for some important stuff
not being an economist, these all make sense. but from a social perspective, i think the biggest cause is that we’ve learned to live beyond our means, or failed to act our wage. it’s not so much the cost of goods that plays such a big role (though that’s an increasingly important factor as basic goods grow scarce), but the lifestyle which we’ve grown accustomed to. i understand that it’s harder in more metropolitan areas, but still, i think that our consumption-and entertainment-driven lifestyles play a huge role in how far our paychecks go.
given, the federal government & the fed have done a masterful job of manipulating the economy into a black hole, but i can’t blame them for my hunger when i won’t give up my cable tv.
Um, hardly “impossible”. I know plenty of people that are doing it right now. I think hilker’s exactly right about what makes it harder but it’s not impossible.