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Families Fare Better Economically When a Parent Stays Home
Misleading math
You make a good point that there are some situations in which it's irrational for both parents to work. If one parent's income would be less than the additional costs incurred by having no adults at home during the day, then they're actually losing money by becoming a two-income household. However, your argument, that "families fare better economically" this way, is only true in those limited situations. If the non-working parent has a high earning potential -- for example, if they are very educated or have skills that are highly in demand -- it could easily put the family in a better economic situation to have both parents working than to only have one. They'll be making more money than they will have to spend in commuting costs, child care, etc. Clearly the rational thing to do is to send the higher-earning parent to work for sure, and decide about the second parent by making these calculations. But these calculations will not always lead to the conclusion you assert here.
- thoughtcounts Z
October 31, 2008 5:35PM
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