By Stephen Smoot
An increasingly common complaint among many in their 20s comes from a complete misunderstanding.
They heard, somehow, somewhere, that in the magical 1950s a single blue-collar income could pay for the needs of an entire family. They surmise that society has somehow gone off the rails because one could not do the same in 2025.
Such jobs certainly did exist. After World War II, the entire industrialized world, save the United States, had much of its manufacturing industry annihilated by war. American industry had the greatest comfort zone any national economy ever experienced because almost no competition for “Made in the U.S.A.” existed for about half a generation.
Reality check coming next.
Manufacturing jobs could and did pay well, but the self-defeating trend of searching for jobs “that fulfil me” would not lead them towards eight hours a day, five days a week, on an assembly line. Most jobs that most people find fulfilling, in reality, mostly do not pay much. The work ethic at the time, forged by the Great Depression, was “get a job and work your butt off to keep the bosses happy.” That was true whether one had an amiable or irritable supervisor.
“All in the Family” presented an authentic blue collar life. Archie Bunker’s opinion of his job ranged between hating and tolerating it. He had to play workplace politics to get a promotion when the bump in salary was needed to pay for an expanded household. Attaining a management spot was a plum for which to battle.
Not everyone found such a living, though. Loretta Lynn’s autobiographical “Coal Miner’s Daughter” revealed another reality. A Christian upbringing meant that even though “we were poor, but we had love” but “to complain, there was no need.” Without studying it, stoicism was the official philosophy of American blue-collar families.
Families enterprise beyond work, such as the purchase of shoes from “money made selling a hog” because the heroic “Daddy always managed to get the money somehow.”
Another tidbit forgotten by the young and impressionable comes from the frugality practices by almost everyone. Habits learned by families during the Great Depression persisted three and four decades later. Use and spend as little as possible while reusing as much as possible. Clothes went from new to hand me downs, to their final fate as a quilt or set of rags. The only brand names were the department stores from which they came.
How much does a household today pay for television, movie, and musical entertainment in 2025? In the 1950s, one bought a single television set and perhaps two radios for the house. That was it, but after purchase everything was free over the broadcast airwaves.
How much does a household pay today for its automobiles in 2025? In the 1950s all but the most affluent got by on a single car. The family Dad usually knew the basics of auto repair and could keep a car running for a long time, but the family had to prioritize and share the vehicle.
How much does a family pay for food in 2025? In the 1950s, most matriarchs had in their minds the accumulated generations of knowledge on how to use, reuse, and get the most out of every morsel of food. Going out to eat for most households with children was a rare treat.
Much of the food for many families cost very little. In many homes, entire families tended large gardens, eating from them when picking the food and canning the rest. In Hardy County, some families continued to make traditional foods like sauerkraut in the same fashion as their ancestors did for centuries in Central Europe.
How much did one pay for college in 2025? Before higher education price gouged its customers higher than almost any for profit industry has ever dared, mostly because of guaranteed federal loans, a part time entry level summer salary could cover tuition and books, leaving the student with a degree, but no debt.
How much do people pay for telephone communication in 2025? Unless still only using a land line, probably a lot more than in the 1950s. And long distance phone calls cost a great deal, but the cost of a stamp, letter, and envelope was not prohibitive.
No one paid anything for video games, but fairly small sums could bring entertainment in the form of a deck of cards or board games.
None of these issues can one lay at the feet of the free market capitalist system. In 2025 obesity among the impoverished is a bigger issue than starvation and malnutrition. The free market’s cheap and plentiful food is less of an issue than individual self-discipline when it comes to the obesity issue and related health problems.
What happened was that the free market started offering cheap and easy options, expanded technology and services, and more. As all tiers of society grew more affluent, they could afford more, but too often spent way beyond their means, often with credit. Why? Out of an odd compulsion to be seen as more affluent than others.
One never obtains anything of value without some sacrifice. Many today put their own convenience and other wants as priorities, even when they struggle to get the necessities. Nobody is entitled to the good life. It must be earned.
The solution for young people looking ahead at decades more time on this earth truly lies in making life decisions strategically and deferring gratification until one can afford said gratification. You have no right to a certain standard of living. You have no right to fulfillment. You have the right to pursue these things with no guarantee of success. If the pursuit does not come with wisdom and hard work, then it will likely not end as desired.