The American Standard of Living

The United States is a prosperousnation. Its unemployment rate, currently 5.9%, is low. In 1999, the most recent year for which complete statistical information is available, American families had an average monthly householdincome of $4,079. This allowed most families to live in a large and comfortable home, buy nice clothes, own one or more cars, and buy appliancesand electronic products that reduced their work and provided them entertainment. Many Americans are satisfied with their standard of living,but others are not. Among the dissatisfied are some members of the middle class, many single women, and the poor.

Who’s poor in the United States? Nearly 12% of all Americans, most of whom fall into one or more of the following categories:

· the elderly retired,

· the physically or mentally ill,

· unskilled workers,

· the uneducated,

· the unemployed,

· single parents,

· children,

· and minorities.

In 1999, 17% of all American children and 23% of African-Americans and Hispanics were poor. Although the percentage of poor people decreased from 1979 to 1999, the figure is still high.

While many members of the American middle class are fairly satisfied with their standard of living, others are not. During the 1990s the U. S. economy was unusually strong, the standard of living improved, and many people became rich. Between 1992 and 1997, the number of Americans earning over $1 million a year more than doubled. By 2000, 7.1 million households had a net worthof more than $1 million. During this same period, many middle-class workers saw their purchasing powerdecrease, while others made only slight gains. These people were frustrated by the failure of their lives to improve while others were becoming rich.

Many American women are unhappy about their work situations. They face two major disadvantages in the workplace. First, men are often paid more than women to do the same job. As a result, men earn much more money than women. For every dollar a man earns, a woman earns 76 cents. Second, women have more difficulty than men getting promotedto positions of greater responsibility and higher pay. Although nearly half of the American workforceis female, only 4% of the top executivesof corporations are women.

Fortunately, the differences between the wages men and women receive are narrowing. Laws have been created to prevent unfair wage practices. In addition, more and more women are entering traditionally male-dominated, high-paying professions such as medicine, law, engineering, and architecture.

American women now earn 39% of the country’s medical degrees and 43% of its law degrees. Women are also starting their own businesses inincreasing numbers.

Though many Americans are not satisfied with the job they have or the money they earn, on the whole the American workforce has adjustedwell to enormouschanges in economic conditions. In 1900, about 20% of American women worked. Today, about 60% of women over age 16 are employed, while others are temporarily unemployed or are students. During the twentieth century, the percentage of employed men age 65 or older fell from 65% to 15%. Because of their pensions, very few older people need to work full-time, although many need to work part-time.

More young Americans attend universities now than in the past and, therefore, begin full-time employment at a later age. As a result, the number of years that the average American works full-time has decreased greatly since 1900. Also, during the twentieth century, the percentage of agricultural workers fell from about 40% to only 2.6% of the workforce, and the percentage of other blue collarworkers also decreased. The majority of American employees are now white collarworkers. Years ago, it was common for workers to spend all their working years doing the same job for the same company. Today, conditionschange rapidly, so people are often forced to seek work in other cities and states and to leam new skills. From 1981 to 1985, many adult workers lost their jobs because of factory closings and cutbacks. Meanwhile, the number of jobs in high techfields has been growing rapidly.

One recent workplace change is causing some unhappiness. Americans spend more hours on the job now than they did a few decadesago. Many Americans think of a full-time job as being 40 hours a week—eight hours a day, five days a week. But today the average American employee works 47 hours per week, and about 37% of Americans work 50 or more hours per week. Compared to 1980, Americans are working the equivalentof two additional weeks a year. Why? To increase profits, many companies have downsized, while expecting to get more work from their remaining employees. Also, to increase their incomes, many Americans must moonlight. Americans now work more hours than people in any other highly industrialized nation. Even the Japanese, often called workaholics, work slightly fewer hours than Americans.