Two Income Trap: Even though the modern two-earner family brings in 75% more inflation-adjusted income than the one-earner family of a generation ago, it actually has les discretionary income—and far more financial instability. The decline of public education has dramatically raised the price of housing in good school districts, prompting parents to overstretch on mortgages. 30 years a go, the typical family had no choice but to scrape together a 20% down payment. Today, it’s often 3% down. The result has been a record number of bankruptcies—1.5 million people this year, of which nearly 90% have middleclass incomes. (The Two-Income Trap, Warren & Tyagi, Basic Books, 2003)
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