> Economists say that a typical middle-class family today is richer than one in the 1960s.
My mother was a nurse and my father a warehouse worker. In their early 30s, on minimum wage, they were able to buy an apartment and still save enough to afford another one.
My wife and I are both software developers. We work longer hours, are far more formally educated, and have to continuously study outside of work just to stay employable in a rapidly changing industry. I earn a high salary at a large U.S. company, with bonuses and stock compensation. Yet as we approach 40, we still haven't reached the level of financial security my parents achieved decades earlier.
Nominally, our incomes are higher, but real purchasing power, access to housing, and long-term security have eroded, even as the demands on our time, education, and productivity have increased.
> Economists say that a typical middle-class family today is richer than one in the 1960s.
My mother was a nurse and my father a warehouse worker. In their early 30s, on minimum wage, they were able to buy an apartment and still save enough to afford another one.
My wife and I are both software developers. We work longer hours, are far more formally educated, and have to continuously study outside of work just to stay employable in a rapidly changing industry. I earn a high salary at a large U.S. company, with bonuses and stock compensation. Yet as we approach 40, we still haven't reached the level of financial security my parents achieved decades earlier.
Nominally, our incomes are higher, but real purchasing power, access to housing, and long-term security have eroded, even as the demands on our time, education, and productivity have increased.