to live the same as a family did in the 70's with one parent making 50k a year requires a total salary of a little over 90k a year today.
I think even that is undercutting things a bit. My wife and I broke 110K last year, and we're far from comfortable. I live in a modest 3/2, all my vehicles are paid for, I have less than 2K consumer dept, we only eat out once a week, and still I have a hard time finding cash for my rigs and the fun stuff.
And I have to commute to work because GREEDY ARSE local contractrs would rather hire "ethnic" crews who'll cut corners and charge half as much for labor while working weekends for straight time. Meanwhile the cost of houses keeps going up, while the quality of construction keeps going down. Explain that to me?!
