If the missus takes a job, then the kids may need daycare, they may need to pay higher auto insurance costs, etc. And it really isn't that easy to find basic low-skilled jobs anymore. I'm sure they can cut back to save money. It sounds like they are trying to cut their utility costs. But it often costs money to cancel things like a cell-phone contract, dish service, or car lease, so that's not always a great option.
Having been laid off in the economy that lost George, Sr. his job (twice, actually) and having been laid off once in this economy (my wife wais laid off in both, too), I can definitely say that it is much harder to find a job this time around. There are so many resumes that it is difficult even to get a recruiter to call you back and a temp agency laughed at the minimum amount that my wife wanted (her unemployment would pay more below that rate), which was not a laughable figure in the early 1990s. Things are worse than they were.
But my point is simply this: His employer isn't responsible for his finances. It's his mortgage and his bills. Live within your means and quit WHINING.
Whining is human nature. I'd stop reading human interest pieces like this if you don't want to hear it.
Free traders have simple answer for this - if Americans cannot afford to have children they should leave procreating to Mexicans and Indians who can do it more efficiently. Free market rules require this.
Preach it brother. On 8 bucks an hour, I can't even rent a motel room. Cable? Dish? Bwaahahha! I went back to school, and hopefully the foreigners won't be able to snatch proofreading or editing. That would be text. Like newspapers and books. There is only so much you can do to cut costs. When I was married and my oldest kids were little, I bought fabric remnants and sewed their clothes. I crocheted doilies and antimacassars for Christmas presents. Then many years later I found out how much my ex husband was actually making. Oh well. I'm self sufficient. Day old bread, half price meat, and dented canned goods. I just hope I can get a degree and a decent job. Hopefully my 89 New Yorker can make it past 300,000 miles.