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I can't speak to a woman's need to make her mark in the workplace but I do know that it is the high cost of government (taxes) that forces both men & women into the workforce. It used to be that one income could support a middle class existence. People were even able to save money, and buying on credit was rare. And it is well known that having someone at home during the day with the kids and for the kids is the best insurance that you can have against having the children get in trouble. The lack of a parent at home has also caused many parents to lose touch with what is going on in the schools with a consequence of the school systems devolving into little more than daytime meat lockers.

Actually, one income can support a middle-class existence, if you are willing to forgo brand-new cars in the driveway every other year and a fancy home.

My husband and I are both 29, and bought our first home 18 months ago (after his 9 years with the Navy). We didn't buy the most expensive house we can afford--we bought the one that needs some cosmetic work but is comfortable to live in. We bought a second car (new, but our other is 9 years old), we don't go out a lot, we are planning on homeschooling our kids, we live pretty well but not extravagantly (and we have savings too!), and we are not starving. And we do it on one income!

My husband makes a pretty good middle-class wage, and I am sure that we could have more things if I worked, and our home improvements could get done faster, but I have an almost 4-year-old and one on the way. I have worked outside the home, and it did not bring much extra income into the house, and we had miserable lives and not much time as a family. Is our home life perfect? Of course not--but our overall quality of living sure is better with one of us home during the day. I do the cleaning and the cooking and the laundry and all that goes with the territory of staying at home with the kids, but my husband helps out (he's in school as well, so he really has to be a superdadddy) when I really need it.

I am so p***** off at the NOW nags for telling women that they aren't anything without a career, and kids can come whenever, and even then, why should they have to quit working when the baby comes...just dump them in daycare at six weeks so they can be fulfilled at work!

Is being a one-income family always easy? No! Is it worth forgoing some things to know you're doing the most important job there is? Of course!