Recommended reading on the subject:
http://www.amazon.com/Two-Income-Trap-Middle-Class-Mothers-Fathers/dp/0465090826
I have read it and it makes a fascinating case for why two-income families are most likely to be forced into bankruptcy. I have pasted one of the reviews from the Amazon site below.
The mother/daughter team of Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi have written one scary book. What exactly makes this book so frightening? The fact that many of their conclusions are probably correct.
A friend who happens to be a CPA who counsels families in financial trouble told me about this book. She actually is warning her clients not to read it because it paints a fairly bleak and depressing picture. Naturally, after she told me this, I had to read it, even though she was correct, much of the information contained in it is depressing.
For one thing, in many ways the integration of women into the workplace and the rise of the two income family has not had the positive effect one might have hoped it would. Because so many families are now two income dependent they have become trapped and are more financially vulnerable than previous generations. Many families use all of the income they receive from both husband and wife, and barely get by. As a result, any interruption of the income flow can result in disaster. One telling statistic: today's two-income family earns 75% more money than its single-income counterpart of a generation ago, but actually has less discretionary income once their fixed monthly bills are paid.
This is generally blamed on overconsumption and claims that we are a credit card generation that it is paying the price for its free spending ways. And no doubt credit spending has its role in the financial problems of middle America. But Warren and Tyagi make a compelling case that this is not necessarily the whole story. Instead, they propose that the culprit is in large part the ever escalating cost of housing and education in America's suburbs. As many parents chase the better schools in an attempt to assure their children the best possible education, real estate prices in areas serviced by those schools rise and with it the cost of the homes.
At one time, families could count on stay-at-home mothers as a kind of financial safety net if disaster struck. If dad lost his job or some other financial problem arose, mom could go to work either fulltime or part-time to help tide the family over until the crisis abated. But today, when so many families are dependent on two incomes, families are at a frightening risk should any financial crisis arise in the family. The authors do propose some modest solutions, but its doubtful many of their suggestions would ever be implemented on anything more than a limited basis. Among their suggestions are rate caps on credit cards and open-access public schools, but none of their suggestions can truly provide a fix for the problem.
Some people have dismissed their findings and conclusions. Unfortunately, I believe they are truly on to the core of the problem.
While this book does indeed paint a bleak picture, with bankruptcy often proving to be the only solution for many families, it is a timely and recommended book for anyone concerned about the financial future of Middle America. I would criticize the authors for not offering more realistic solutions to the problem, unfortunately in the current economic environment there may not be any.
