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Originally Posted by liamona  Really? Then why is it that nowadays both parents have to work outside the home to have a normal lifestyle, when just in the 50s and early 60s Dad's income could support the whole family pretty comfortably?
And most families are NOT living fancy lifestyles with their two incomes, but just trying to pay the basic bills. I admit I'm talking from a white middle-class perspective, but I have poorer relatives who aren't making it on two or three incomes, and resort to welfare.
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The difference is in what people consider a "normal" lifestyle. While multi-family homes may not be living "fancy" lifestyles, they are certainly living better than the average single income family of the 50s and 60s. Families today have bigger homes, more cars, more appliances, more entertainment services (tv, internet, cell phones, etc), eat out more often, along with many of other things that require the additional income to sustain. It is entirely possible to live comfortably on a single income, it is just a matter of priority.