The thing is that those jobs, even the better ones, won't support a family or even an individual now. It's tragic and inhumane. Yes, the elasticity of money has shrunk with the NEED of things. If we lived simpiler lives, we wouldn't need so much money. But at 18 , I worked in a semiconductor plant making a shift differential of 15-cents over minimum wage - WOW! - and I rented a decent mobile home in a nice MH park on the Indian River in Melbourne, Florida and didn't need an annoying roommate. While working there, I bought a new car - the cheapest new car on the market but a new car, nonetheless. I shared my life with 3 cats and a dogs and paid all the necessary bills that are attached to pets. I took at least one vacation every year - going 100 miles or more away from where I lived. I had a TV and a stereo system. No smart phones back then so that was a hunk of money I didn't have to spend. True, I couldn't save money - most of what I earned went out as fast as it came in. But, I had a pretty decent life. At 18, no one now could have a similar life making 15-cents over minimum wage. It wasn't a job I wanted forever but it certainly was a good jumping-off place.

While reading your piece, I didn't think of my father who had his own business but I thought of my best friend's father. He worked in a factory that made tools. With that job, he bought a 2,000 sq ft house with a big yard and later purchased the house nex door and rent it out. He raised two kids and his wife never worked. A similar job today would never support that lifestyle.