According to TED: The Economics Daily, for married couples: "53 percent had earnings from both the wife and the husband in 2011, compared with 44 percent in 1967. Couples in which only the husband worked represented 19 percent of married-couple families in 2011, versus 36 percent in 1967." This means that from a percentage basis that in 2011 there was an increase of just over 20% of married couples in which both partners were working than was previously seen in 1967. Additionally, in comparison of 1967 for married couples to 2011, the husband was the sole earner at nearly a 90% greater rate than 2011. If we were to simply look at this information, and nothing else, our conclusion would be that because that there are more dual-income married couples today, that the material worth and/or the disposal income in constant US dollars of these couples must be better than their 1967 counterparts, but in actuality that isn't the case.
In point of fact, rather than looking at the increase of dual income married couples as being of great benefit for the couples themselves, from both a financial as well as a self-worth perspective, it is too often been, more often a perceived necessity for these couples that both adults work just to make ends meet. What has occurred in the interim from 1967 to 2011, is several-fold, for instance, both the size as well as the price of housing has gone up considerably since the 1960s, so that the amount of money being needed to budget for a home for rental or purchase has increased markedly. Additionally, two-income families have had to spend considerable more money on vehicles and their incumbent insurance, because usually both workers need to have their own car. If, these couples also have children, they then need too to pay for childcare. Also, because the income tax is graduated, the more that you make, the greater that percentage that has to be sacrificed for federal as well as state taxes; in addition to tax rates overall having gone up, this should also include the increases for both sales tax as well as property tax rates. Furthermore, the access to easy credit, as in credit cards, is considerably higher than in 1967, signifying for a considerable portion of married couples, additional bills and interest payments that were pretty much unknown two generations ago. Finally too, healthcare as well as college costs have soared from 1967, with often married couples, having to budget their funds to pay back their college loans that have reached staggering amounts exceeding the high five figures or more.
While there are many married couples that have no interest in returning to a time when the man was traditionally the one to be the breadwinner and the woman stayed at home, that option, in any variation, for many married couples, isn't even available any more. Today's married couples need both incomes just to keep their heads above water, meaning that if either worker loses their job, that they are up against it; whereas years ago, with one adult held back in reserve, there was always available to that married couple, the opportunity to increase their wages seasonally, periodically, or in times of urgency.
Today's married couple's work harder than ever before, but too often their harvest is paltry.