[pwthornton]

Those who in high productivity sectors make more than enough to warrant working instead of staying at home. My wife is in this category. And you need to think of this more than a simple one year ROI.

Leaving the workforce for 5-7 years (or more) can shave hundreds of thousands or millions off of lifetime earnings. You are talking about leaving the workforce in prime of your career and not getting experience and promotions for several years. My daughter is 2.5, and my wife has been promoted twice since she was born. Leaving the workforce from the ages of 30 to 37 could be fairly catastrophic to one's lifetime earnings.

We live in the Washington, DC area, with the highest childcare costs in the U.S., and the long-term financial impact of her not working would be staggering, even if working versus not working was a complete push while we had pre-school age kids.

There are reasons why a spouse may want to stay at home to raise kids, but rarely does it make long-term financial sense.

[gech]

What do you say to people who decry the concentration of high incomes in our governments capital?

[pwthornton]

If your area has a low concentration of good paying jobs, it's probably a structural and cultural issue that could be worked on.

Washington, DC is the capital of the wealthiest country on Earth and it has a massive concentration of high quality higher education. Why wouldn't the economy be strong here?