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The problem is.. people WANT to damn much now.

People like to say .... back in the day a man could work a job and make enough to support his wife and kids and a home with a white picket fence.

Um... lets analyse this

Then, a man could work and support his entire family while the wife stayed home with the kids.

Now, both have to work to support the family.

Why is that? oh! that right, the woman working also means:

- you need an extra car “then” family didn’t have.
- you have to buy a woman a work wardrobe “then” family didn’t have
- you have to pay for day care, that “then” family didn’t have to pay for
- more income taxes because the combined salaries put you in higher bracket.
- ect.

The fact is unless the wife has a REALLY good job, when you add up all the numbers, you’d be better off with her staying home (or the dad staying home if he has the lesser job)

that’s point number 1.

BUT, it doesn’t end there.

Think of all the things people HAVE to have today that didn’t even exist then or if they did only the rich had.

Central heat and air, Homes that come with appliances, homes that sit on foundations and not blocks, insulation, double pain windows, more than one bathroom in a home, cell phones, cable tv, color TV, heck multiple TV’s!!, personal computers, high speed internet, automatic transmission, power windows, air bags, ac in your car, unleaded gas, ect

I could go on and on about all the things people now EXPECT someone earning a modest income to be able to afford.

And that’s not even mentioning all the extra they think they should be able to afford: exotic vacations, going out to dinner all the time, professional haircuts, going out to lunch vs bringing one, ect

Now, both have to work to support the family.

Couldn't you make the case also that having women entering the workforce created more supply of labor, thus driving the wages down.

many of the first suburban homes were KIT HOMES you could buy from places like the sears catalog!

here is the wikipedia article that talks about them

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sears_Catalog_Home

The average size home in the 1950’s was 950 square feet.