Did you ask her what she is doing for her mother? Did you ask her what she is doing to ensure that she didn’t end up like her mother?
BTW, when my wife works, we effectively pay $0.42 on the dollar in taxes, 28% Federal, 6% Massachusetts and 7.65% SS and Mediscare. (I know, there’s a temporary “payroll tax holiday” of 2%). This does not count the employers match 7.65%. So for every dollar net pay my wife gets, the government gets $0.8433.
For one thing, she’s paying taxes (including social security); we also have a pension at my job.
As for what she does for her mother, I have no idea.