While median family income for both blacks and whites increased over those three decades, an income gap persists. "Between 1974 and 2004, white and black men in their 30s experienced a decline in income, with the largest decline among black men," Issacs writes. Families beat their parents largely because more households had two breadwinners and because of gains in women's incomes.
My wife is a stay-at-home mom for the good of the kids. It's slow financial suicide. My retirement plan is dying at my desk. My plan for the kids future is carrying a lot of life insurance and riding a fast motorcycle....
So what's the story? Have kids when you're married so you can put them in daycare while you both work?!
I make good money, but I am part of the first generation, Gen X, that will have a lower standard of living than the previous generation.
Ping list for the discussion of the politics and social (and sometimes nostalgic) aspects that directly effects Generation Reagan / Generation-X (Those born from 1965-1981) including all the spending previous generations are doing that Gen-X and Y will end up paying for.
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People have been saying the same thing for 100 years -- usally when running against incumbents. It hasn't been true yet, and there's no reason to think it will be true now. You can look at a data series going back to 1790 (admittedly the early stats are debatable), and real per capita income growth over 20 years (1 generation) runs around 40-50%, for the whole period, with the lowest in the very early years of the republic. In 40 years it runs a bit over 100% on average.
Most of the people whining about how we're doing worse don't see that we're really "doing different." I grew up in a pretty average family for my town -- 900 square foot house, eat out twice a year, one black-and white TV. Travel 1000 miles away every 2 years. If you live that way today, you can do it with a much lower class job than my Dad had back then with a stay-at-home Mom. If you want a 2500 square foot house, eat out twice a week, 2 Plasma HDTV, go on vacation to at least to Fla or the Caribbean every year --- you need a lot more income -- and the average person actually has it.
I don't mean to rag on you personally, but that's the facts, and the "average" person is out there making it happen, every day.
I think the answer is that mothers of small children should not be in the work force. (I am one of them too.) Maybe then the rest of employees could A) not need much time off work and B) earn more.
We need to preserve civilization. Forcing our children to live most of their day without being in mom’s bosom is really not the greatest idea for civilization. Day care and all-day schooling IS a Brave New World; the media has twisted us around to think it’s normal.
I make good money, but I am part of the first generation, Gen X, that will have a lower standard of living than the previous generation.