• The Picard Maneuver@lemmy.worldOP
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    8 months ago

    Exactly, I remember this from when I was a kid! We’re not talking about pre-industrial America, pre-civil rights movement America, or even pre cell phones America.

    This is relatively recent, and it’s a tragedy that it’s so normalized that younger gens would assume otherwise.

    • NegativeNull@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      My father dropped out of high school, got a job a HP as a line worker (manufacturing oscilloscopes), got married, had 6 kids, 3-4 cars (depending on needs), and a house to fit all those kids. This was in the late 70s-90s (when the last kid graduated high school). Mother didn’t work. We lived comfortably (not wealthy by any means).

      My wife and I have 4 degrees between us, both work full time, have a single kid. We live about as well as my parents did.

      • The Picard Maneuver@lemmy.worldOP
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        8 months ago

        The middle class dream! It absolutely feels like the bar to clear to be able to achieve this is significantly higher now.

        Unless you’re already wealthy, you have to pick one or more from the following:

        • delay starting a family until more secure
        • both parents work
        • multi-generational household
        • living farther from major cities
        • having fewer kids than you might otherwise
    • Bo7a@lemmy.ca
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      8 months ago

      I supported a family of 4 on a single income from being a grunt in an autobody shop in 1999. We didn’t live the high life, but we had a house, a paid off car, and took in-country vacations at least once a year.