Tweet of the night:

[applegrove]

Link to tweet

(White people)

[BigmanPigman]

1. That sums it up in a nutshell.

It must have been a nice time to live in the US....not so nice since then, unless you are an entitled GOP heir of a stolen fortune.

[Wednesdays]

2. Both my grandfather's were average blue-collar workers

My mother's mother worked part-time as a dental assistant. My dad's mom was a stay-at-home mom.

They were not considered rich by any means, but solidly middle-class. Yet my dad went to private high school, and grandpa and grandma took vacations to places like Las Vegas, Honolulu, or Mexico City annually. My mom went to private college, and grands owned a second home--a cottage by the lake. They also owned two cars--almost unheard-of back then.

[calimary]

3. Yep.

[Midnight Writer]

4. I remember the guys worked at the grocery or dime store had nice homes and cars.

Jobs that are low wage retail today used to be something that could support a family.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

5. Not necessarily.

In the 1950s my dad had a union job. My mother was a nurse, and without her working full time we'd have been in complete poverty. There were six of us kids, and the money was never there for college. Those of us who went needed scholarships or to work while going to school.

This is something of a myth, just like the myth of pensions. Fewer than half of all workers could look forward to collecting a decent pension, even when they were supposedly common.