David Brooks: The nuclear family was never going to last

[appalachiablue]

13. Brooks is light on the economics of why there were many nuclear

families in the U.S. 1950-1965. At the time we had well paying jobs with benefits, unions and a stronger social safety net, all of which benefited white men the most. Since then wages have been kept down, unions have been broken, jobs were outsourced and the social safety net has been dismantled, all in the name of holy free- market economics and Reaganomics.

The debt that young people have to take on for a college degree since the 1980s is robbery and doesn't exist in other advanced countries. Prior to Reagan, the U.S. had affordable college tuition costs; in three generations none of us had to take out loans. And the cost of homes in the last 20 years is prohibitive for most young people and with the recessions and 'gig jobs' lately no wonder many of them are living with parents, delaying marriage, buying a home and starting a family, the case with a nephew.

Much of the way people live, especially in one household has to do with finances and economic need; it's not all about the social and personal aspects of 'family life' with children and grands, or 'selfish single career women and some men,' more. ~ On this topic, I've done a considerable amount of genealogy and family history research and worked at the National Archives. I used U.S. Census records and other historical materials, some dating to the mid- 19th c., centered on the Mid Atlantic region and including newer immigrants from Germany and other European areas. None of the records showed a high number of complex, multiple generation families with 'strays' and servants. That would have stood out.
--------
Note, glad to hear Brooks supports reparations, he should. I'm on the traditional side in some areas, and am actually in favor of cross generation family groups and shared households and work. Children and adults benefit greatly from being close to and growing together with cousins, grands, aunts and uncles. To me the prototypical 1950s 'nuclear family' was a bit exclusionary and cold, at least the way it was often depicted on television.
________________

- NYT, Multigenerational Households: The Benefits, and Peril, By Ann Carrns, Aug. 12, 2016.

Even though the recession officially ended seven years ago, a housing trend seen during the downturn has endured: The number of multigenerational homes continues to grow.

A record 60.6 million people, or 19 percent of the American population, lived with multiple generations under one roof in 2014, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of federal census data. That compares with 17 percent in 2009, the year the recession ended, and 18 percent three years later, in 2012.

The share of households with multiple adult generations has been growing since hitting a low of 12 percent in 1980. The trend greatly accelerated during the 2007-9 recession, when high unemployment pushed younger people, in particular, back home to live with their parents. The question was whether the trend would ease, as the economic recovery made it more feasible for people to strike out on their own. So far, the shift shows no sign of abating.

“The striking thing is that this really has persisted after the recession,” said D’Vera Cohn, a senior writer and editor at Pew Research Center. “Perhaps this trend is here to stay.”

There are many economic benefits to living with parents or grandparents as an adult, Ms. Cohn said: If you’ve lost a job, moving in with family keeps a roof over your head and helps keep you out of poverty, and those with student debt can pay down loans more easily. “All of those things are still true,” she added.

Another possible reason for the trend, Pew’s report noted, is that the Asian and Hispanic population is growing more rapidly than the white population, and those groups are more likely to live in multigenerational households.

John L. Graham, professor emeritus at the business school at the University of California, Irvine, and co-author of “All in the Family: A Practical Guide to Successful Multigenerational Living,” said he saw the trend as part of a return to interdependence within the extended family. “This is the way people have always lived around the world,” he said. The economic benefits of sharing services can be substantial, Mr. Graham said: Grandparents and older family members can provide child care, while younger adults can care for elderly relatives...

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/12/your-money/multigenerational-households-financial-advice.html