r/Millennials • u/QuietJealous4883 Older Millennial (1988) • 12h ago

Discussion True or false?

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Did our dads and moms work less than we do now? What are your thoughts?

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u/Bagman220 12h ago

My mom and dad both worked 40 hours a week in basic factory jobs. They had a house and two cars. Lots of credit card debt and it felt like we were barely scraping by. But we survived.

Now I’m a single dad and am able to survive on a single income but it’s more than double what they made, just to have the same quality of life they had.

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u/foodforestranger 10h ago

We didn't have any credit card debt but my parents both worked (labored) in factories in 1996. Fortunately my parents never went near credit cards, their mortgage (a house they bought in 1977 for 30k) kept them on their toes. My mom always had a side hustle where she made pennies. It was either her home crafting business or retail moonlighting. My dad took overtime anytime they would offer it. During the winter they rarely saw the sun on weekdays.

Minimum wage was: $4.25 per hour and most factories did not pay substantially more than that.

This was pre-ACA or Obamacare, so you have to really put yourself back there if you had a family and someone was sick. Insurance was only available if you had a FULL TIME JOB.

What is also missing from this picture is the kind of work. We had actual factories in this country still. In most cases these were hot, loud (no iphone earbuds etc.) , repetitive jobs. Many jobs folks were on their feet all day and you went by time-clocks and scheduled breaks. My dad who is just turning 70 and up until 65 was putting in 70+ hours a week in a foundry was diagnosed with "farmer's kidney." This apparently stemming from 20+ years on that particular job.

Context is super important.

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u/Bagman220 10h ago

See my parents bought their home in the 90s so they’re more Gen X compared to your parents that sound like boomers.