Well, when I was growing up in the 50's in a middle class neighborhood, moms didn't work... They didn't have to... Dads made enough money back then for that to be the norm...
Then came about the Reagan Revolution (whatever that was) and since 1982 wages have stagnated... Yup, it's a strange coincident, isn't it, that economists now look at 1982 as the beginning of the end of growth of wages of the average American working family... But that decline has continued since 1982 and it's no wonder that families have suffered...
Oh sure, it can be argued that some average families could make it on Dads salary but the standard of living would be very low and the sacrifices great... And that choice were made then the average family would no longer be average but probably close to living in poverty...
A more ***just*** distribution of wealth is what we need for starters if we are going to preach family values...