[am452]

That’s a valid point, but even if every married woman with kids gave up their job outside the home our standard of living would still be several orders of magnitude higher than it was back in the 1930s.

You are doing it again. We were going through a depression back in the 30's. I would venture to say that if all wives left employment today are standard of living would be more like the 50's. How's that?

[discostu]

Still pretty crappy actually. The average house was half the size we have today, most families had one vehicle, TVs and other household devices we take for granted today were luxury items. No thanks.

[Alberta's Child]

Why are you assuming that the 1950s would be any more valid than the 1930s in terms of comparing standards of living to 2007?

In the 1950s the U.S. was the only major industrial power whose infrastructure had been unscathed by World War II. The 1950s was the exception -- not the norm -- in terms of measuring the U.S. standard of living historically.

[Alberta's Child]

To me, I knew once when the average American could raise a family on those types of jobs, have medical coverage, and pay for a home.

Right. See my last post on this point.