I am going to side with the realists on this one. I had the paper route. I had to collect moneys from all my customers. It was a small town, so I knew people's situation. Some people could live on one income, and some could barely get by on two (minimum wage jobs). My family was in the middle, my mom did not work but my brother did not go to college, my sister and I got very little financial help from Dad for college. She settled for a two-year degree and I got a BS with only a little debt but stopped living at home and got a job so I could apply for a Pell grant based on my own income.

The reality was some people did live that idealistic "50s" lifestyle even in the 60's and 70's. Greed and tech killed it. The meme of one car, smaller house, no computers, no cell phones, no internet, no cable TV, no avocados, no AP classes, and vacation was visiting relatives, also is part of the realism. Oh, when I was in High School, dad bought my brother and I a secondhand TV for our bedroom (yes, we shared a room) it was black and white only just like the one in the living room. I wonder how many people know about black and white TV? Sometimes you stayed with relatives while your parents went on vacation. I did get to go music camp for two weeks each summer when I was in High School.

TEK