[anovikov]

This somehow misses out the fact that in a married couple having 'childcare' expenses, there are supposed to be 2 earners. With a gender gap of about 30% for married women that leaves about 60k a year of wife's income or about $3500 after taxes per month which should leave no problem making ends meet. Leaving wife out of work is reserved for the upper class nowadays, even not all of them. Definitely not for the bus drivers.

Also if the wife does not work, why do they have childcare expenses from? What is the wife doing then?

And, bus drivers don't need to save for retirement, unlike us coders, so they don't really need to save at all, union cares for them.

And they are not supposed to have transportation costs since they ride for free.

I am starting to think we will get self-driven buses long before we get self-driven cars...

[anigbrowl]

Childcare != daycare. Even if one parent stays at home, you still have buy special clothing, children need more medical attention, school supplies etc. etc.

Leaving wife out of work is reserved for the upper class nowadays, even not all of them. Definitely not for the bus drivers.

It used to be that quite normal across all classes for one parent to go out to work and one to look after the family. One wonders what the point is in increasing economic growth if it's to make us less well off than we used to be.

[anovikov]

Anyways that's not about it. Unions have bargaining powers and that's only reason why these drivers are paid any more than walmart gatekeepers. Hard fact. And they will be automated away very soon. It was very stupid to do what they do in the city of hackers where automating them was the first idea everyone had being stuck unable to commute to work.

Unions may be strong but it is very stupid to commit outright suicide.

Also one thing is when say, auto workers are going on strike. They can have a lot of popular support. Not with bus drivers who are going to alienate everyone ever riding a bus, and people will support any solution allowing to get rid of them.

[seehafer]

You can easily live nowadays on a one-parent income... just not in the Bay Area. I lived in the Dallas area and that was the norm -- and not just for middle-income tech people either. A modest house (that doesn't cost much) and only one car (as it was in the 50's) and you can get by on a 60-70K salary, even taking into account childcare.

[anovikov]

You can, but the standards of consumption changed to reflect working spouses, so with wife not working, most people will look like losers. That's life and it's not the problem of bus drivers only. If one doesn't like that he can turn sexist and beat wife locking her up at home, see how far he goes... Like it or not but living standards - in both material and behaviourial sense - imply working spouses for everyone except upper class folks (and even them usually have spouses working to avoid looking sexist and old-fashioned).

[goggles99]

"Schools Supplies" and "Special clothing" are most definitely NOT child care. Medical attention already has it's own category.

Child care definitely means someone else caring for you child wither it be a nanny, pre-school, day-care, after school care ETC.

I agree with you about the parent staying at home bit. I really think that most people could still do it (like my wife and I do), but they would have to live frugally and not listen to the women's lib Hollywood+Media+peers who are telling them that they are losers if they don't get a career outside of the home and leave the child rearing to a stranger (This sounds so wrong but that is ultimately what they are saying).

Quality of life should not be measured by wealth because wealth will never buy you happiness and never will raise your kids as well as you could have done it.