Book on the state of “two income households” in America
Question #1 (everyone must answer)
In their book on the state of “two income households” in America – Warren and Tyagi state that there are two major components of the “two income trap” – outline these. (Basically, what IS the “two income trap”? What are the major economic trends which have led to “the trap”?)
Question #2 (answer Q2 or Q3)
Outline at least 3 of the myths that people have used to explain away the two income trap. What have we learned in class which now help us to understand why these are, indeed, false?
Question #2 (answer Q2 or Q3)
Outline at least 3 remedies which the authors point to as opportunities to help households (families) who have fallen victim to “the trap”.
A super rare bonus opportunity!
This book was written 15 years ago. How we doing?
• Feel free to compare and contrast social policy established 2008-2016 with that enacted in the past 14 months
And the book name is two income trap
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Writing
Q1: In their book on the state of “two income households” in America – Warren and Tyagi state that there are two major components of the “two income trap” – outline these. (Basically, what is the “two income trap”? What are the major economic trends which have led to “the trap”?)
Well, life today is a lot harder than it was a decade ago and for those who were working then, life was a lot more difficult for the ones who were before them. As life continues to become more unbearable, people are trying to find things to do to help them overcome these difficulties. One of the solutions to today’s financial problems is that parents consider sending both parents to work. Today, this is normal but is this a credible solution and does it help to alleviate the problem. Well, as Tyagi and Warren note in their book The Two-Income Trap, this leads to what they call the two-income trap. Thus, the two-income trap is the situation where a family sends both parents into the workforce with the expectation that with both pay cheques, the family will be able to withstand whichever storm that comes their way. However, as Warren and Tyagi note, this only helps to create problems in the long-run instead of helping to alleviate them.
One of the issue that is overly mentioned in Warren and Tyagi’s book is bankruptcy. However, the authors appear to divert from the common rhetoric which purports that bankruptcy is as a result of extravagant spending. The authors note that currently, many middle-class families are quite fragile because of living their lives without a safety net. Apparently, these families are living too close to the edge and do not have any contingency plans which should come in handy in case of any uncommon or unexpected eventualities. Today, people file for bankruptcy because of several reasons including the loss of a job, divorce as well as serious medical problems. Warren and Tyagi note that today’s bankruptcy filings appear to either be because of either one of the above reasons.
Aside from the above, it is crucial to note that taking care of children is an expensive affair something that also pushes parents towards the two-income trap. The authors note that the cost of children is also something that drives parents to consider two-incomes. The idea here is always that with two incomes, parents will be able to offer children the life they never had or move into a good neighbo...