this post was submitted on 10 Jun 2026
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No Stupid Questions

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I've worked 2nd (afternoon), swing (evening), and 3rd (overnight) shifts for the majority of my life. I recently moved into a training position where I'm Monday through Friday, 8am to ~5:30pm (I get OT while I'm cleaning up and writing reports).

As much as the 2nd/swing/3rd shifts screw with your life in other ways, the difficulty in scheduling any kind of life services outside of working hours is maddening. Doctor's appointment? Nope. DMV? Maybe Saturday, if you're lucky. Chaperone your kids field trip? Hahahhah no.

I don't want to burn sick time for a doctor's appointment (I need to save those for when my kid is actually sick), and I sure as hell don't want to use up a "vacation" day for it. How tf are you supposed to get anything done?

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[–] SuiXi3D@fedia.io 58 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Jobs paid enough so one person could stay home is how it worked. Growing up, dad made all the money and mom stayed home to do chores and whatnot. It’s just how things worked. These days mom’s living off of dad’s retirement fund since he died early and she’s always surprised when I have to ask her for money even though its her generation that made the world what it is. Even when I am able to find work my wife and I are check to check. It’s stupid.

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 4 points 7 hours ago

Jobs paid enough so one person could stay home is how it worked

That's a fantasy. In the 1800s and before there was so much at-home work to be done that it was a full time job for someone (virtually always the wife). She had to do the baking, cooking, mending clothes, cleaning, etc. all without any electrical appliances. That included no refrigerator or freezer, so shopping had to be done a lot more often. There were also no cars, so people either had to walk to do their shopping, or they used a horse. But, if they used a horse, then there was extra work related to keeping the horse alive and in good shape. Clothes were also a lot more expensive, so a lot more time was spent either making clothes at home and mending clothes that had holes, worn spots, etc. It wasn't "to do chores and whatnot", it was a full-time job involving more work than a typical a typical job from modern days.

Then there was WWI, then the "roaring 20s", which is when electrical appliances first started appearing, and then the stock market crashed and the great depression hit. During the great depression, if either the wife or the husband could find work, they were lucky, and probably had to support the whole family. During the great depression, a lot of worker protections were put in place through the New Deal. But, the jobs weren't there.

Then WWII hit, and for a while the US was manufacturing things for the rest of the world without being in the war itself. That helped the economy get going again. When the US joined the war, the economy was really going, but there was rationing in place so the workers who were earning money weren't able to spend it. When the war ended, the US was in an incredibly strong position. Workers had savings to spend once rationing was removed. Every other country had had its industrial base smashed by the war. As a result, the US manufacturing was in high demand all over the world. For contrast, even though the UK was also one of the "winners" of WWII, rationing was in place until 1954.

So, high demand for industrial workers, worker protections left over from the New Deal era, labour-saving electrical appliances being available for the first time, cars everywhere... it was a unique set of circumstances that meant for maybe the first time in history a man could work a blue collar job and have a wife who stayed at home and just did "chores and whatnot". That lasted a few decades. People blame Reagan for a lot of it, but really by the time he was elected that golden period for blue collar workers was already ending.

Also, keep in mind that strong protections for workers didn't just happen. The government didn't just decide that it would be nice to workers. Workers had to fight hard for those rights. The 8 hour day is the result of fights that were very violent. Bombs were thrown at cops. Supposed ringleaders were hanged by the government after show trials. FDR pushed for laws to protect workers because the alternative was rioting. If today's workers want to share in the wealth, they need to riot, they need to be prepared to die. Nothing's going to change if it's just complaining that "this isn't how it should be".

[–] Formfiller@lemmy.world 25 points 1 day ago

Yep we could have kept taxing the wealthy like we did pre Regan and things would have been good still but both parties became neoliberal shit

[–] Tower@lemmy.zip 9 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Eh, except that was only ever true above a certain income level. There has always been a portion of the working class excluded from those perks.

[–] searabbit@piefed.social 11 points 21 hours ago

I think the point is that the income level that could afford a stay at home parent used to be way lower than it is today. My parents bought a house in the hood in the 90s for around $100k in their 20s, got by with 3 kids on a single blue collar salary of less than $40k in the 2000s (like ~$70k today), and are doing great financially today. The oldest of us with no kids struggled to buy any home on a double income in specialized skills with degrees. We grew up qualifying for state benefits and pell grants and somehow us kids who are technically "middle class" are doing so much more for less.

[–] EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com 0 points 20 hours ago

Jobs paid enough so one person could stay home is how it worked.

Sure, but you get send your stay-at-home spouse to the doctor or dentist on your behalf. They can manage tasks that are more household than personal though.