There has been a good debate over if the economy is doing good, and if we are benefitting from it. Over the past 20 years or so, we have lost a tremendous amount of manufacturing, engineering, and many other jobs that supported the middle class. The thought is that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, and the middle class is pretty much evaporating. I sort of agree with this to a point. It seems as though what we call the middle class has gotten a little inflated.
50 years ago, what was considered "middle class" was living in a 3 bedroom / 1bath rancher that had about 1200 sq/ft. That home would be placed on a 1/4 acre lot, and have 1, maybe 2 cars in the driveway. A nice car for family outings, and a compact for those "around town" trips. Today, this perspective is totally changed. The "middle class" is not happy until there's more than 4 bedrooms and 2 full baths, and more than 2400 sq/ft of space inside the home. The driveway is filled with 2 and frequently 3 high-end vehicles. What's even more alarming is what I call the "turnover" rate of appliances and furnishings within the home. People like to replace things today just because they don't like their appearance, or they are just simply tired of them, not because they wore out or malfunctioned. Of course, planned obslencence from the technology industry doesn't help much.
Previously, teenagers had to work to purchase their first automobiles. Most teenagers ended up driving old junkers that they cobbled together from scrap parts...that is if they even had their own vehicle. Nowadays, the parents buy the teenarger a brand new car, and pays for all the insurance, service, and fuel costs! While technology and innovation has driven the price of products down, which allows product replacement to happen faster, we still expend a tremendous amount of expense replacing products, and filling the home with an exess if things we really don't need. I just recently acquired a Kitchen-aid dishwasher from that was almost 30 years old, and in pristine shape. I talked to the guy who owned it, and he got rid of it because his wife didn't like the fact that it LOOKED "old". No amount of pleading with her would change her mind, so out on the curb it went. This happens way too frequently with not just diswashers. Us, as Americans buy more stuff these days that we really don't need. The stuff usually ends up by the curbside before we even finsh making payments on it, so we can make way for more new "stuff"
50 years ago, we would be happy to have an old dishwasher, if any at all, and if it broke, we'd be repairing it, not replacing it! That, and most people stood around wondering how in the heck they would fill all that empty space in their 1200 square foot home.
Luckily, there's plenty of "junk" going around for people like us that are scavengers due to our inflated views of what is considered "middle class" There's plenty of cool "retro" stuff out there that is in great shape that we too, can live the same life without spending the enormous amount for it.
I currently live in a home that a man built brand new 60 years ago. He lived in the home with his wife, and raised two boys in it, retired, and then I bought it. The home only has about 1000 square feet...it's really small by today's standards, but it's plenty big for me being single. It's also the typical size of the homes around me. The curious thing about this is that one doesn't see generations growing up in the neighborhood any more like this. Typically people view the homes in this neighborhood today are known as "starter homes" and as soon as a couple starts having children, they think the house is too "small" and they move farther out the city into a bigger home....it's quite obvious from this that what we consider middle class has become rather inflated!
Can we sustain this spending spree? I think not! The entire reason why this exists is that Americans are spending money we don't have! Much of what fills the typical "McMansion" is bought on credit, and those products are manufactured overseas. Basically the "loop" that keeps the economy going has been broken.
50 years ago, what was considered "middle class" was living in a 3 bedroom / 1bath rancher that had about 1200 sq/ft. That home would be placed on a 1/4 acre lot, and have 1, maybe 2 cars in the driveway. A nice car for family outings, and a compact for those "around town" trips. Today, this perspective is totally changed. The "middle class" is not happy until there's more than 4 bedrooms and 2 full baths, and more than 2400 sq/ft of space inside the home. The driveway is filled with 2 and frequently 3 high-end vehicles. What's even more alarming is what I call the "turnover" rate of appliances and furnishings within the home. People like to replace things today just because they don't like their appearance, or they are just simply tired of them, not because they wore out or malfunctioned. Of course, planned obslencence from the technology industry doesn't help much.
Previously, teenagers had to work to purchase their first automobiles. Most teenagers ended up driving old junkers that they cobbled together from scrap parts...that is if they even had their own vehicle. Nowadays, the parents buy the teenarger a brand new car, and pays for all the insurance, service, and fuel costs! While technology and innovation has driven the price of products down, which allows product replacement to happen faster, we still expend a tremendous amount of expense replacing products, and filling the home with an exess if things we really don't need. I just recently acquired a Kitchen-aid dishwasher from that was almost 30 years old, and in pristine shape. I talked to the guy who owned it, and he got rid of it because his wife didn't like the fact that it LOOKED "old". No amount of pleading with her would change her mind, so out on the curb it went. This happens way too frequently with not just diswashers. Us, as Americans buy more stuff these days that we really don't need. The stuff usually ends up by the curbside before we even finsh making payments on it, so we can make way for more new "stuff"
50 years ago, we would be happy to have an old dishwasher, if any at all, and if it broke, we'd be repairing it, not replacing it! That, and most people stood around wondering how in the heck they would fill all that empty space in their 1200 square foot home.
Luckily, there's plenty of "junk" going around for people like us that are scavengers due to our inflated views of what is considered "middle class" There's plenty of cool "retro" stuff out there that is in great shape that we too, can live the same life without spending the enormous amount for it.
I currently live in a home that a man built brand new 60 years ago. He lived in the home with his wife, and raised two boys in it, retired, and then I bought it. The home only has about 1000 square feet...it's really small by today's standards, but it's plenty big for me being single. It's also the typical size of the homes around me. The curious thing about this is that one doesn't see generations growing up in the neighborhood any more like this. Typically people view the homes in this neighborhood today are known as "starter homes" and as soon as a couple starts having children, they think the house is too "small" and they move farther out the city into a bigger home....it's quite obvious from this that what we consider middle class has become rather inflated!
Can we sustain this spending spree? I think not! The entire reason why this exists is that Americans are spending money we don't have! Much of what fills the typical "McMansion" is bought on credit, and those products are manufactured overseas. Basically the "loop" that keeps the economy going has been broken.
That's NOT to say a FATHER cannot do the job either. My thought is that at least ONE of the parents needs to be at home taking care of the kids...well, at least till they enter school age is my thinking. 
