The Two Income Trap

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Senator Elizabeth Warren and consultant Amelia Warren Tyagi, the classic book about America's middle class -- and why economic security remains out of reach for many. In this exposé, Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi show that modern middle-class families are increasingly trapped by the grinding reality of flat wages and rising costs. Warren and Tyagi reveal how a ferocious bidding war for housing and education has silently engulfed America's suburbs, driving up the cost of keeping families in the middle class, and placing unprecedented pressure on hard-working families. Revolutionary when it was first published in 2003, The Two-Income Trap remains disturbingly relevant today. Now with a new introduction by the authors, The Two Income Trap shows why the usual remedies won't solve the problem and points toward the policy changes that would create better opportunities for both parents and children.

The bestselling mother/daughter coauthors of "The Two-Income Trap" now pen an essential guide to the five simple keys to lasting financial peace.

Dispelling our most cherished myths about work-family balance, Suzanne Venker argues in The Two-Income Trap that women who want to get married and have children will find their home lives less chaotic and far more satisfying by making motherhood, not career, their primary focus. The premise of The Two-Income Trap: Why Parents Are Choosing to Stay Home is that childrearing is no longer recognized for the enormous undertaking it is. ‘Having it all’ is an impossible goal for anyone, male or female. The needs of children don’t allow two married parents the freedom to dedicate themselves fully to something else. That isn’t a bad thing, says Venker. It’s a good thing. It’s time to shift our paradigm. There is value in pursuing both work and family; but prioritizing family over career, and being realistic with one’s goals, is the only way women can be successful at both. The ?Two-Income Trap does two things: helps elevates the status of parents at home, and helps mothers who want to be employed create a life that works. Without the stress. Without the guilt. Without regret.

The global crisis of 2008-09 has brought to the forefront a plethora of economic and political policy issues. There is a re-opening of discussion on basic economic concepts, appropriate framework for analysis, role of private and public sectors in the economy, structural transformation of economies, human development and managing of growing risks and crises. The purpose of this book has been to bring home the inter-linkages in various parts of the economy and the need for practical policy making to reach development goals while being aware of the instabilities, complexities and downside risks inherent in the nature of a an economy operating in a globalized world. Thematically, this book focuses on two core types of policy: policies that promote strong, sustainable and inclusive growth in low income and middle income developing countries and new and emerging policies that necessitates a discussion amongst policy makers and practitioners. Throughout the book, the authors provide insight in to the different types of policy approaches that can be taken to help the economy grow. Ultimately the book looks to foster discussion amongst policy makers on growth and development.

This book argues that China must become an innovation-based economy to avoid the middle-income traps, and examines both the opportunities and challenges in meeting this goal.

This edited volume examines the development path of eight Central and Eastern European countries with an overlapping historical background that joined the European Union between 2004 and 2013, and identifies the main similarities and differences between the countries concerned. Based on wide comparative data analysis of Bulgaria, Croatia, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia, each chapter in the volume provides detailed information about the state of the economy in a specific area preceding the pandemic shock. The book offers a detailed snapshot of the state of the different areas of the economy, starting from the time when the countries concerned came out of the 2008 financial crisis, up to the date when COVID-19 hit. Further, each chapter analyzes the effects of this unprecedented shock on a particular field, which is followed by highlighting the main problems the countries are facing at present and in the near future, together with identifying the available policy options. Finally, before concluding and making general and country-specific policy recommendations, some thoughts will be given to longer-term prospects. More specifically, the question of how the subject area could contribute to avoiding the "middle-income-trap" that this region may be facing will be addressed. The comprehensive approach makes this volume a must-read for scholars and students of economics, as well as policy decision-makers in Europe, interested in a better understanding of the region's economic development.

The bestselling mother/daughter coauthors of "The Two-Income Trap" now pen an essential guide to the five simple keys to lasting financial peace.

For decades feminists have belabored the idea that work should be at the center of women’s lives, and that motherhood wouldn’t get in the way of this goal if society would simply cooperate. If husbands performed half the housework and childcare, if the government would invest in universal daycare and family leave, and if employers allowed parents to leave the office at 5:00 p.m., women could achieve the balance they so desperately seek. But the real reasons work-family balance remains elusive are much more complex. In The Two-Income Trap, bestselling author and Fox News contributor Suzanne Venker claims the two-income family is a trap. It encourages Americans to think about family solely in terms of economics, when in fact breadwinning is only part of the equation. The burnout that results from not having someone home to do everything mothers have historically done is huge. Not only do children lose out, marriages become stressed to the breaking point. Husbands and wives become locked in a battle over who’s going to do what on the home front. When that happens, many women view this as a marital problem when in fact the issue is time. There just isn’t enough. “The battles [between husbands and wives] aren’t always waged over actual chores or the inequity of handling them. The battle is over time,” writes Rhonda Nordin in After the Baby. At the core of this debate, writes Venker, is the fact that raising a family is no longer valued or even recognized as an enormous undertaking. The needs of children simply don’t allow both parents the freedom to dedicate themselves fully to something else. Fortunately, Americans are finally accepting this fact. Not only are more fathers staying home, the share of stay-at-home mothers rose to 29% in 2012, up from a modern-era low of 23% in 1999. This rise represents a reversal of the long-term decline in this group that had persisted for the last three decades of the 20th century—during which time feminists waved the flag of liberation. But none of it feels liberating. Women are tired of trying to keep up with the demands of full-time work and childrearing. They’re tired of trying to prove themselves. The idea that women can ‘have it all’—pursue demanding careers, raise fabulous kids and remain perfectly sane along the way—is bogus. There are only so many hours in a day. The secret to balance, for those who want it, is to accept that a woman’s life has seasons: a time for this and a time for that. Women who insist on doing everything at once are proving nothing except an allegiance to a dying movement. The era of “I am woman, hear me roar” is over. Women can have most of what they want over the course of their lives, but not if they follow the cultural script feminists have laid out for them. Women need to adjust their expectations and accept that when we choose to have children, we choose a life of trade-offs. So do men. We also need to broaden our view of what it means to be successful. Being important in the outside world is great, but it will never compare to the significance of our presence at home, and to the calming nature of that home when someone’s physically there. At the end of the day, it’s our personal success, not our professional success, that determines how happy we are. “Dr. Laura” praises The Two-Income Trap: “Ms. Venker’s contribution to humanity, to families, to marriages, to women is huge. In a way, it is sad that she’s got to argue points to prove what ought to be a “given.” On the other hand, her arguments are beautifully crafted and right on target for today’s anti-childrearing atmosphere. My hope for you, the reader, is that after you read this book, you will be unwavering in your commitment to do the right thing, and reap the incredible rewards.”