How Americans Really Live

"There is little doubt that some Americans are spending ostentatiously. But..it is appropriate to debunk the oversimplification." The authors of 'The Two-Income Trap' (Basic Books),claim that "most Americans do not fit the bill" and "provide a clear-eyed correction to the myth of far-flung affluence. "The fact is that it is not only the poor and working poor who are not faring well in America. Many of those in the middle, especially two-income families, are having trouble making ends meet, despite the boom of the 1990's. The authors argue that families are spending more on "a house in a safe neighborhood with a good school....The scarcity of good schooling has created a bidding war that drives up house prices in first-rate school districts." Other factors driving spending include day care and preschool and health insurance.