Middle Class and Lower Class Americans - Does it, or Why does it take 2 paychecks to make ends meet?

Question

David S... david s... This question has nothing to do with myself, so don't tell me to "get a job" you fat lazy ****. I asked a question, and everyone here is giving pretty decent answers (except for yourself, and Mr. KKK here) so please refrain from giving loose, uncalled for, and rude comments. Thank you.

Answer 1

When my parents were young, you had to work for everything that you had. You made do with old hand me down furniture. You didn't have TVs or other devices that most people think are now the necessities of life. Our expectations have changed. To live like we want you need money so two paychecks is the answer.

You don't need a degree or education to be wealthy. You need to watch your pennies and work hard. It is easier if you have a trade, or degree but not impossible.

Does anyone remember what happened when the garbage truck drivers went on strike? We need all people to work in the jobs that they have! We need to revalue what jobs are important. We need to see that the person who is at this moment on a low wage job is needed. Usually more than the person who sits in an office earning an obscene amount of money to talk and shuffle paper.

Answer 2

It only takes 1 pay check to make ends meet. You just have to move the ends closer together! In my humble opinion, young families today want it all and they want it all right now. My generation went to school, worked hard, went to church, paid our taxes, helped their neighbors, and were grateful for what they had and were able to achieve. We may have started in a a mobile home or apartment, saved our money and put $ down on a home that wasn't exactly what we wanted, but one that we could turn into what we wanted. Today, you drive through a new neighborhood, and you will see $250,000 homes with a young couple living there -- 2 new cars, 2 kids playing in the yard wearing the name brand clothes. Go by the same neighborhood a couple of years later, and you will find divorce, depression, foreclosure etc. When will you wake up? It's more important to instill good values into your children than in accumulating material goods. Keeping "up with the Jones's" today might just lead you to bankruptcy.

Answer 3

Often we forget about the things on which we are spending our 2 paychecks. Its true enough that rising costs and low minimum wage contribute, but these days we are not satisfied with a used car like most of our parents were. Mortgages are easy to come by (especially sub-prime) so we purchase big houses instead of starter homes. One b/w TV is not enough, we need a big TV in every room.

Couple with that, we have no problem paying $50 - $100 for sporting events and concerts. Trust that if they can get $100 they will soon be asking for $150. These nicer thing in life are nice, but we are acquiring them at younger ages, long before we have established ourselves, and using credit to pay for it all, something previous generations were unable to do.

As you can see, its not just this politician, or that business, but a drive to have more, better, faster, bigger etc.

Answer 4

This a very simple answer most younger people won't have a clue about. Back when the GI's came back from WW2 the federal tax rate was around 10% so you can see were the husband could take care of his wife and children with 90% of his paycheck. as government grew and more entitlements became standard that same guy was paying 60% of his paycheck, hence you needed a second paycheck to take care of the government take.

For those of you that want free health care and other freebies you the wife and the children might end up working just to cover this. we have come a long way from the working dad taking care of his family.

Answer 5

Bush doesn't care about these people. The financial costs of this war are syphoning the social programs dry. At least the war on the middle/lower class is going well. But hey, Exxon Mobil and the Saudis are happy which are Bush's main concerns. Cronyism before altruism is our new national motto under Bush. Don't extend a hand to your neighbor, just point a finger at them. Ah yes, Bush the uniter.

Answer 6

The problem is twofold.

The first being taxes. Most people have no idea just how much they pay in tax when you factor in all the costs. Federal Income, State Income (if you live in a state which has it), FICA, Medicare, sales, property and all the incidental taxes like car registration. It adds up to a sizable chuck of the average income stream.

The second is the fact that generally speaking income does not keep up with cost of living. More and more these days companies are demanding higher profit margins and obtaining it not only on the backs of their workers, but also the consumer. The only recourse is to gain education in order to receive higher compensation based on skills acquired. Even with higher education though it is often necessary to change jobs in order to bring your salary into line with current trends. It's sad because it has really killed the idea of staying with one company with an eye towards a lucrative retirement.

I thankfully do not have to work 2 jobs to make ends meet. My wife and I are both gainfully employed in good paying jobs, but we did work 2 jobs each for several years while we were establishing ourselves. America is still a land of opportunity if you are willing to work hard to get ahead, but it is definitely not the land of our fathers.

Edit: Just for clarification based on your question. We both do not have to work, but we have no children and having 2 incomes allows us to have more intangibles, such as vacations then we would otherwise be able to afford on one salary.

Answer 7

When I was growing up my Dad was able to support our family on his factory job. He made 86. bucks a week. We had 1 used car and my parents qualified for a program similar to habitat for humanity but you built the home yourself. They put the slab down and basic frame and you did the rest. It is a 3 bedroom small ranch. Their payments were 93 dollars a month. I doubt our utilities at that time went beyond 50 bucks. It was tight but we made it. Then my Mom went to work in order for extras once we were older. They started planning for their retirement then and getting life insurance, health insurance and we got a 2nd used car. I started working when I was 16. Part time, 1.25 an hour and I was able to afford my own clothes, start a savings account and pitch in on gas and such with friends, buy albums and other ditties kids want. I went to college. I worked my way through as a cocktail waitress as well as splitting expenses with 3 other girls to rent a house. 2 story, 4 bedroom, 2 bath house for 200. a month. Try finding that now and I made more money then. I worked part time and made over 500.00 bucks a week. My car insurance was 45 bucks for 6 mos. Took me 7 bucks to fill my car. 10 for Dr. office visit. I finished school and started working for 12.00 an hour, full benefits.....life was good. I then wanted to continue on with my education and did. But children came along and I didn't finish. My husband at that time was doing construction and we were ok. But bills piled and so I went back to work. My once 12.00 job was now a 4.25 job with no benefits. So I then did whatever I could. I have started back at the bottom with every job change. Education and experience got me in the door but it didn't equal more pay. Everytime I'd move up there was a change to where no matter what I did it never got beyond 7.65 and hour. The position was done away with, the store closed, something. I never again had benefits offered. Atleast full benefits. Insurance was offered but it took half my check. Full time was also a rarity.

I tried getting aid. Made 10 bucks too much to qualify. I was making less money than I ever had and the prices were off the wall. My daughter is a full time day care worker. She couldn't get her own apartment if she wanted to. Her boyfriend/fiance works full time as well and most of his money goes for just a car payment and insurance. God forbid they got married because they'd make too much for aid and not enough to live on if they had children.

Education is not a guarentee for a financially secure future. My husbands best friend has worked for a company (high tech) for a good 30 years. Makes good money. Company's closing. He's gonna be out of a job and now that's he's in his 50's......he's not going to find a job making what he makes now. They insource for cheap in that field. But he's still got the expenses and lifestyle of this job. I would really like to know what a guarenteed financially secure education is now days. I've met too many well educated people in the employment line through no fault of their own. Just about everybody else says a prayer each day that they have a job by the end of the day. You used to be able survive on low pay. You can't anymore. First last and security to rent. Go to the Dr. and they want pay up front. Heck you can't even get basic TV in here without cable.

There are those who are lucky. But it takes all job levels and skills to make the world go round. There's even a limit on the high end as well.....life is more than just money and people should be able to live here when they are working.

Answer 8

For those that require 2 paychecks to make "ends meet", it generally means they spend more than they make. We are a society of money hungry, materialistic fools. Most people spend more than they make, use credit because they are too impatient to save for what they want and don't know how to effectively budget their money. HOWEVER, there are people whose situations change due to employment, health, divorce etc. who then need 2 incomes because their financial status has changed. I didn't have to work for years but chose to do so so that my family could have the extras we wanted. Once my spouse's career changed and our income dropped drastically I had to work to help pay for our home and cars. We didn't live beyond our means and we did save for a rainy day. Our home is not huge, our cars are used (and paid off now) but our situation is temporary and I will be able to stop working in about another year. But I will choose to work to rebuild our savings and rainy day fund and to pay for those fun extras. And I don't believe in credit either!

Answer 9

High costs of living. Americans are very bad about planning and saving for the future. The majority of americans do not have a savings account, and only have retirement because an employer contributes. We are frivilous with spending. I don't think it has anything to do with laziness as one person did, we just don't manage money well.

Answer 10

too much of the time people cant distinguish between what they need and what they want,,
it never ceases to amaze me to watch a fat guy , smoking a cigarette and drinking a beer,listening to his rented surround sound,,then telling me that he just cant seem to get ahead,,,
life is simple,,all that is involved are a series of choices ,
,,you make a choice and you either reap the rewards or pay the consequences
look in the welfare lines and look at the shoes,,that will tell you a good story, the heat may not be on in the house but they are gonna look good while hanging out
and yes we need ditch diggers and I don't want them to have their doctorant , if they did I could not afford a ditch