That's only because urban housing and infrastructure is largely a zero-sum game. If you want to live in a house in San Francisco you have to outbid all the othe

That's only because urban housing and infrastructure is largely a zero-sum game. If you want to live in a house in San Francisco you have to outbid all the other rich people who want to live in a house in San Francisco. It's totally possible right now to raise a family on a single income working remotely with a better than 1950's quality of life. Unfortunately, you'd have to move somewhere outside the first world which very few people are willing to do because they're caught up in a never-ending race to out-compete and out-consume their peers.