Book review on "The two income trap"

by Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren

This book is " a startling account of the elusiveness of American Dream", the subtitle of this book "why middle class parents are going broke?"

Remembering we saw the film "our house we live" talking about institutionalized discrimination, lies accumulation of wealth of the Whites and disaccumulation of the colors. The cruel reality revealed in this book, even the middle-class White families with children, are under institutionalization stress and undergoing more bankruptcies even more than before.

What are the "Two income traps":

Comparing with one generation ago, when the single income families were as norm of society, today, two income families are overtaken as majority. However, the discretionary income of a single income family a generation ago is more than two income family today. How come? where did all the money go? the answer is:

- over-consumerism, over bidding for better housing, education, health insurance, higher taxes etc.( if you have watched the above movie, you will understand why American families are willing to/ even forced to pay "premium" price for certain neighbourhood, certain school. It is all part of parcels in institutionalized discrimination, however, the side effects of it has spilled over to the Whites middle class as well)
- the risk of the two income family in financial terms are higher than single income family. The single income family on the other hand has a safety net, is relatively well protected from uncertainty and emergency, like divorce, or lose of job.

Therefore, in last ten years, many middle class two income parents have filed bankruptcy. the number increased was 662%


- Children from these two income families will be the first victims when the family went through bankruptcy
- The price for family, especially for children, seems to be too expensive, many have to make life choice, like a commercial one, simply "cannot afford", many have choice not to have children.

We see here an ironic situation, while two income certainly bring in more money than one income, yet, the collective pressure on family has causing the two income families broke.

Can we do something about it? At the end of book, She states;" So long as the costs of preschool remains a family's responsibility rather than a public duty, parents will continue to struggle. So long as colleges can get away with doubling tuition every generation to pay for sports terms and armies of new administrators, families will be stretched even further, and so long the government refuses to impose some basic interest rate regulations, credit card companies and mortgage lenders will continue to drain tens of millions of dollars out of the pockets of middle class families." "Politicians who have taken millions of dollars to protect the giant bands will pointedly ignore the book while they would loudly reaffirm that they are "pro-family". And there will be no shortage of people who will continue to denounce the financially unlucky as more failures."

What we will lost, if the state, government and institutions do not act collectively, American dream will soon smashes,

The book was published in 2003, call no. HQ 536 W287
Singaporen, are we better than it?