Yeah, my wife complained about pretty much the same thing: back in the 60's, with the classical division of roles, a typical family had the husband as the sole

Yeah, my wife complained about pretty much the same thing: back in the 60's, with the classical division of roles, a typical family had the husband as the sole bread-barer and the wife did all the house-work. Now, with dishwashers, vacuums, washing machines, dryers, second cars, etc. cutting down a lot of the time of the woman's chores, it's not like she actually gained more spare time today: no, now she is expected to get a job! :-) Of course, it's a bit tongue-in-cheek -- after all, all these gadgets also come with higher costs for the household -- but it is true that while in my grandparents' generation, most families working under the above model could afford a house and a decent life-style, it would now be impossible for my wife and me to buy a house just based on my income alone. But that's again comparing apples and oranges a bit because let's not forget that today's lives typically have higher expectations and higher standards of living. My grandparents, for instance, never did a vacation overseas, etc...