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zerospinboson · 10-09-2009, 04:40 AM

I just finished reading The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Mothers and Fathers Are Going Broke (2003), and I have to say I found it incredibly interesting in how she debunks a lot of popular myths about what's "wrong" with american spending patterns. Rather than being a problem of frivolous spending on appliances, clothes, etc, she shows that nearly all personal bankruptcies are due to either enormous mortgage payments, or costs incurred related to healthcare. Rather than two income families being more secure (because of the much-touted 'extra' income), they are in fact at more risk, because they take out mortgages based on the assumption that both workers will continue to have jobs for the duration of the mortgage (and because house prices have risen to reflect those new incomes, because people are able to bid more), and as such, as soon as something goes wrong, all goes wrong. If you want to get a sample of what she tells in the book, watch this (starts at about 8mins in). It's a very quick read, but it summarizes and refers to (via notes) enormous amounts of research that were used in writing it.

10-09-2009, 04:40 AM	#2723
zerospinboson "Assume a can opener..." Posts: 755 Karma: 1942109 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Local Cluster Device: iLiad v2, DR1000	I just finished reading The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Mothers and Fathers Are Going Broke (2003), and I have to say I found it incredibly interesting in how she debunks a lot of popular myths about what's "wrong" with american spending patterns. Rather than being a problem of frivolous spending on appliances, clothes, etc, she shows that nearly all personal bankruptcies are due to either enormous mortgage payments, or costs incurred related to healthcare. Rather than two income families being more secure (because of the much-touted 'extra' income), they are in fact at more risk, because they take out mortgages based on the assumption that both workers will continue to have jobs for the duration of the mortgage (and because house prices have risen to reflect those new incomes, because people are able to bid more), and as such, as soon as something goes wrong, all goes wrong. If you want to get a sample of what she tells in the book, watch this (starts at about 8mins in). It's a very quick read, but it summarizes and refers to (via notes) enormous amounts of research that were used in writing it.