"Rex B" wrote in message
...
D Murphy wrote:
"Hawke" wrote in
:
After reading the things said above, which basically say that even
though the statistics on the economy are good, it's really saying that
the average American is not doing very well economically. Most
Americans are either barely holding on or are losing ground. The fact
that the average credit card debt is over $13,000.00 tells you that
people are making up the difference between what they make and what
they spend by borrowing. Normally, after posting information that is
negative about the financial status of most Americans some knucklehead
conservative chimes in and says that he's doing well and has seen his
income increase very nicely over the last few years.


snip

The savings rate went negative in 1998. The assertion that most Americans
are barely holding on, based on credit card debt, is just silly. Look
around you. Who is buying all of the houses being built? What about all
of the cars and SUV's? The fact of the matter is that society has changed
for better or worse. While median incomes for males have stagnated, women
have joined the workforce in droves and have seen their incomes climb.
Working married couples have become the norm, and they are enjoying a
much higher standard of living than any previous generation.

I'm living that. My income stopped rising in 2001, as my employer realized
he did not have to give raises to keep longtime employees. OTOH, my wife
has received annual raises and bonuses until she now makes more than I do.
Of course, she's also smarter and better looking than I

And there you've stated a factor that's not been considered when comparing
the present time with that of the 1950s: back then, most households relied
upon a _single_ income which meant that, even with today's larger
population, there would be a severe shortage of workers.

The "Big Change" came about with the massive (ie. "double-digit") inflation
of the late 1960s and early 1970s when, driven by preposterous demands by
the Unions to "keep ahead of Inflation" and fuelled by the devaluation of
the Dollar, more and more women _had_ to go to work in order for a family to
even attempt to live a "middle class" lifestyle.